Mega Millions lottery jackpot rises to $660 million

Customers purchased lottery tickets at a Maryland Heights gas station on Thursday.

People are hoping to purchase the winning lottery ticket before the drawing on Friday.

"Seeing as it's $660 million, yeah, now I will," Neil Cooley said.

Give me my money all at once. Remove the taxes and be done with it.

The lottery tax in Illinois is 4.95 percent, while Missouri's is 5.4 percent.

This means that if the winning ticket is from Illinois,

The total amount is $218 million, a $1 million decrease in Missouri.

Another reason players are still purchasing tickets close to home is the high cost of gas.

It appears that's what it costs anyway, and with $660 million, it's a drop in the bucket.