Texas Winner Spends The Extra Buck, Triples Payout to $3 Million

It seems odd to have a chain of convenience stores in the Houston area called 'Polar Express'. H-Town, home of high heat and high humidity, and no sign of a Tom Hanks-conducted train on its way to the North Pole.

I guess the idea is that these stores offer an oasis of cooling down in the oppressive heat. The store below also offered up a winning Mega Millions ticket on Friday night.

Somebody who walked into this store located in northwest Houston is now $3 million richer. That person matched all five non-Mega Ball numbers for Friday's drawing to win $1 million.

The winner tripled his/her payout by spending the extra buck to Megaply their ticket. That Megaply number was 3 which turned $1 million to $3 million.

The Majority of Players Don't Opt to Megaply or Powerplay

I get it...when you lay $10 on the counter to purchase 5 lotto tickets, increasing your purchase by 50% on a game with very long odds can be tough to swallow. But, it's just an extra dollar per ticket, and the return on investment is huge.

Depending on the Megaplier drawn, you could double your money or increase it by up to five times.

The Mega Millions Jackpot Continues to Grow

The next drawing will take place on Tuesday, May 28. The jackpot will now be an estimated $489 million. The approximate one-time cash payout would be a little north of $226 million.

Saturday's Powerball jackpot is worth an estimated $120 million.

Play responsibly. Yes, someone will eventually win these jackpots, but the odds are somewhere around 1 in 300,000,000.