. reporter: people are feeling lucky across america tonight. all i want is to be happy and maybe retire early. reporter: there s mega-mania as americans try their luck and long odds at winning the $1.28 billion jackpot. .it s so big, it doesn t even ft on some billboards. this one had to round down. the it bhimani s bought 50 tickets across their family. if somebody wins you re going to split it? that s the plan. era payou isr $750. in $100 million bills that stacks up taller than chicago s willis tower. with that you could buy around 2,500 bentley. this is michael jordan s mansion outside chicago. it s on the market for $15 million, so you could buy 50 of these. but it s a long shot. you re 70 times more likely to be killed by a shark than win all numbers. the jackpot you odds are one out
what do you do now? work. reporter: i think that s what is on a lot of people s minds. as big as this lottery number has gotten, it is still only the second biggest of all time. the first goes to a $1.5 billion number that went to a still anonymous person out of south carolina back in 2018. whoever that person is. i don t blame that person. i think i would follow suit. you ve been talking to a whole lot of people, experts, in fact, and what are they saying in terms of helpful tips when trying to pick the numbers? reporter: that s right, so there are a lot of common numbers that are picked, but also when we just lay out everything in regards to this, we know the lottery amount is now up to $1.28 billion. it is the third time it s gotten past the billion mark in the mega millions and it s the second largest in history.
before it can lead to blindness. but the areds2 clinical study showed that a specific nutrient formula can help reduce the risk of dry amd progression. ask your doctor now about an areds2 supplement. police shooting police shooting today in sonoma county. what led up to the incident and a terrifying attack on an elderly couple caught on camera i ticket and a dream. reporter: tonight, the mega millions frenzy across the country. the third largest jackpot in u.s. history now swelling to $1.28 billion. americans i d buy my mom a house first. reporter: some in nevada, where tickets aren t sold, traveling to california to buy some, waiting in line at
obviously. i ve already gotten two tickets, have you? . no, not yet. don t bother. why? because i m obviously winning. tonight s historic jackpot is worth $1.28 billion. it s the lottery s second largest in its 20 year history. i m not a usual player, but since it was so big, i thought, you know, i guess the saying is if you don t play you can t win. it s over a billion dollars. when it crossed that threshold, what was the first thing that went in your mind? a house. a car. no more working. reporter: what do you do now? work. how did you know that would be the answer, victor. exactly. a lump sum payout would net a winner, $747 million. timothy schultz won the powerball lottery in 1999. his winning jackpot was
yup, that s right. so tom cruise s strategy of waiting for the movie, it has paid off. it is now the ninth highest grossing film of all time. just to give you an idea, this is where maverick has grossed over $650 million. $1.28 billion worldwide. it very close to overtaking jurassic park. and believe it or not titanic in seventh place. it keeps moving up in the rankings and still going strong and the strategy of waiting has paid off for mr. cruise. confession, i haven t seen it yet but it sounds like everyone else has. cnbc s joumanna bercetche live from london, thanks for joining us today. still ahead we will break down the latest effort by democrats to get an assault weapons ban. way too early is right back. r democrats to get an assault weapons ban. way too early is right back. pr and longer when you need it most. its non-habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil.