world. how can you not play? and it s so much and it s so much fun because serve so excited about it and everybody s talking about what they would do if they won. reporter: crowds from nevada one of eight states that that don t participate in megamillions have been crossing into california, waiting for hours to get in on the the action. the jackpot has been growing since the end of january. the last time there was a megamillions winner. when the total passed half a billion dollars, even those who never buy tickets started buying says lottery official russ lopez. it was like tens of millions of dollars then it was a hundred million dollars and before you know it it got so high that s when everybody started taking notice and buying tickets. reporter: but with odds of 1-176 million, you re likely to be be attacked by a shark or even be elected president. statistics expert mike orkin knows all that but can t resist this time. with the jackpot this high i m going to buy