Sales brisk for Friday’s $400M Mega Millions game

DES MOINES, Iowa — Sales are brisk for Mega Millions tickets across the country as people dream of winning a $400 million jackpot.

Lottery officials in Virginia, the lead state for the Mega Millions game, say sales are expected to reach $104 million for Friday night’s drawing since the last drawing Tuesday. That’s about five times the sales when the jackpot is $15 million, the starting point after a jackpot is won.

Mega Millions officials will meet Friday morning to decide whether to increase the jackpot ahead of the 11 p.m. Eastern time drawing.

So far about 32 percent of the possible combinations of numbers have been sold.

The winning ticket must match the six numbers drawn.

Mega Millions is played in 43 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.