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Mega Billion? The jackpot for Friday's drawing reaches milestone amount

 
A Mega Millions lottery ticket rests on the shop counter at the Street Corner Market, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018, in Cincinnati. [Associated Press]
A Mega Millions lottery ticket rests on the shop counter at the Street Corner Market, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018, in Cincinnati. [Associated Press]
Published Oct. 19, 2018

For one week at least, perhaps they should change the name to Mega Billions.

Or at least Mega Billion.

That's because hours before the drawing, lottery officials raised the jackpot for Friday's Mega Millions jackpot to that milestone plateau.

That makes it the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history, trailing only the $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot on Jan. 13, 2016. Three tickets, purchased in Florida, California and Tennessee, split that jackpot.

The jackpot has been steadily growing since July, when a group of officers in California won $543 million.