Florida Lotto Prize Reaches $96 Million

Florida lottery officials raised their estimate Wednesday for this Saturday’s Lotto jackpot to $96 million as get-rich-quick fever burned among the ticket-buying public.

The lottery jackpot is the second-largest in U.S. history after the $115-million Pennsylvania jackpot split by several winners in 1989.

At several spots along the Florida-Georgia border, retailers said customers were waiting in line for more than an hour to buy tickets.

In an unprecedented move for an agency that usually hypes lottery sales, the Florida Lottery Department’s latest broadcast advertisements include this advice: “We’d also like to remind you to play responsibly. Remember, it takes just one lucky ticket to win millions in Lotto.”