The Mega Millions jackpot has reached a record high of $640 million ahead of tonight's drawing as seen here on a Liquorland sign in Covina, California. 
A New York Post headline touts the Mega Millions lottery as tickets are sold at a convenience store on the east side of Manhattan on Friday. No one has matched the magic five numbers and Mega Ball since January 24 -- a full 18 drawings with no winner. Given the pace of ticket buying, the jackpot will go even higher before the drawing. 
A woman fills out a Mega Millions ticket form at Liquorland in Covina, California. 
Victoria Vazquez, second from right, buys $280 worth of Mega Millions tickets for her office pool at Liquorland. 
A man shows his Mega Millions ticket in front of clerk Abdulwali Mohamed Osaim at a convenience store on Manhattan's East Side. 
A Mega Millions ticket sold in Washington on Friday. The jackpot has skyrocketed by $300 million, and is likely to climb, since the last drawing on Tuesday. 
With the line stretching around the block, hundreds of people waited for over two hours to buy lottery tickets at Bluebird liquor store on Thursday in Hawthorne, California. 
A Mega Millions ticket is printed out at Bluebird liquor store on Thursday. The store has a reputation for selling winning tickets, even though their last big jackpot ticket was sold a decade ago, before Mega Millions came to California, according to owner James Kim. 
Jasmine Covington, like many Bluebird customers, rubs her Mega Millions ticket against the store's wooden Bluebird statuette for good luck. 
One year-old Karissa Sanchez sleeps on her father Chris' shoulder as they have been waiting over three hours to buy their Mega Millions lottery tickets at Bluebird liquor store. - NEW: Psychologist: "You have about no chance" at winning "but it really gets people excited"
- Jackpot is the largest ever that an individual can win
- If there's no winner, the jackpot will rise to about $975 million
- Friday's jackpot estimate rises to $640 million
What would you do if you won? Let us know.
(CNN) -- A historic $640 million jackpot is up for grabs Friday as the Mega Millions lottery is living up to its name.
If there is no winner Friday, the jackpot would increase to an estimated $975 million, said Athena Hernandez of the D.C. lottery. That drawing would occur Tuesday.
The multistate jackpot has grown to become the largest ever offered that could be won by an individual. It has captivated the nation, has caused long lines at convenience stores and has many dreaming of creative ways to quit their jobs if they get the lucky numbers.
"Friday night's Mega Millions drawing will truly be a spectacular event in lottery history and provides an unprecedented opportunity for players to take a chance on a half-billion-dollar dream for just the $1 price of a ticket," said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery and lead director for the Mega Millions group.
42,000 lotto tickets sold a minute in TX 
Mega Millions: What if? 
Can an app help pick lotto numbers? Sales have skyrocketed at Manhattan Tobacco, a New York convenience store, cashier Alex Shanahe said. He said the store has proved to be lucky, as it's sold winning tickets of $3 million and $5 million.
"The sales have tripled. Everybody wants to win the Mega Millions," Shanahe said.
A single winner could claim yearly payments or a one-time cash option of $462 million, Mega Millions spokeswoman Kelly Cripe said.
The drawing will be held at 11 p.m. ET Friday, and it can take several hours for lottery officials to determine whether there is a winner and in what state the winning ticket was purchased.
The public can buy tickets until 10:45 p.m. ET Friday, but in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, residents can purchase tickets only until 9:50 p.m. ET Friday because Fridays are a draw night. Oregon residents can buy tickets until 7 p.m. PT Friday.
The Mega Millions lottery is played in 42 states plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, lottery officials say.
The odds of winning the jackpot are about one in 176 million, which means a person would have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than of winning.
Richard Lustig, a seven-time lottery winner who has written a book about lottery strategies, said it's good to buy tickets as part of a group, to increase "buying power." He also advised against using the automatic "quick pick" option and instead suggested choosing your own numbers.
And while the urge to take a chance on such a big jackpot is alluring, Lustig said to guard against getting too enthusiastic.
"Don't go crazy with this," he said. "Don't get what's called lottery fever. Do not spend grocery money. Do not spend rent money."
Mega Millions challenge 
The perils of a lottery pool Myra Langford, a 70-year-old retired school administrator, said she knows the odds but still bought five tickets.
If she wins, Langford said, she will help fix the roof of her church and move out of the cramped Queens apartment she lived in for the past 47 years.
"You got to be in it to win it," she said.
Economist Austan Goolsbee, a professor at the University of Chicago who also chaired the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said the winner or winners of the jackpot should take the lump sum instead of the annuity.
The choice comes down to interest rates, and with interest rates at zero, the lump sum just makes better financial sense, he said.
"If you are fortunate enough to win the lottery, you most certainly want to take the lump sum," Goolsbee said.
Psychologist Scott Bea told CNN that if a winner is a poor money manager and has been unhappy in life before winning, that's likely to continue.
"It solves one problem, but it creates a half-billion others," he said.
"You have about no chance at winning this, but it really gets people excited," Bea added.
His wife asked him if the couple could spend $10 on lottery tickets.
"We could probably flush it down the toilet and have the same outcome, but if it gives you some hope, why not," Bea said.
CNN's Mary Snow, Michael Martinez, Chris Dignam and Devon Sayers contributed to this report.
