Time is ticking to turn a dollar into 355-million of them.
The gargantuan Mega-Million Lottery drawing is tonight.
"I've never played lotto in my life and I'm looking forward to it," said one hopeful man wearing a backwards baseball cap and purchasing what could be a winning ticket on the Upper West Side.
As luck would have it, the store was named "Lucky News" and the location at Broadway and 92nd St. has been among the top 10 establishments forking over large amounts of cash to winners in recent years, even though the name "Lucky" is new.
Another grocery /news and magazine stand with a similar distinction is located at 22-44 31st Street in Astoria, Queens. Owner Bipin Mehta told us he has paid out more than $105 million in lottery winnings in recent years.
"I feel lucky," Mehta declare. "Maybe my store is lucky."
Tonight's Mega-Million drawing represents the biggest jackpot since 2007, when a Georgia truck driver and a New Jersey couple won and split $390-million dollars.
Local
The New York Lottery told NBC if somone is lucky enough to win tonight, the cash purse is $224-million dollars minus taxes or $355-million pre-tax spread over the next 26 years.
"I've got everything crossed, fingers, toes, everything," gushed one woman who just bought four tickets on 32ndt St. near Madison Square Garden.
If it's true it's better to be lucky than good, this is the night for it.
