CHICOPEE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – Tonight could be your lucky night, lottery players across the state have a shot at winning nearly one billion dollars in the Mega Millions drawing. The Mega Millions jackpot for Friday is now at an estimated $980 million. That’s the eighth largest jackpot in the game’s history.
The cash option on the prize is now an estimated $452.2 million. Friday night’s $980 million jackpot is the game’s largest since December 27, 2024, when a $1.269 billion jackpot was won on a ticket sold in California.
Western Mass News spoke with local residents heading in to buy their tickets for tonight. They told western mass news why they decided to enter tonight’s drawing and what they would do with the cash if they were to hit big.
“I’m just playing because it’s a chance and everybody wants a chance and if I did win, I would pay off some bills, but I would also give it back to my community. I’m a very active member of saint stans parishioners, and I think there’s a lot of homeless and people who need it in our Chicopee community,” said Julie L’Heureux.
In case you were wondering, the odds of winning Friday’s jackpot are 1 in 290.5 million. Mega Millions tickets are $5 each and tickets for Friday’s drawing can be purchased until 10:45 p.m.
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