Remember this moment, because it probably won’t last: The U.S. lottery jackpot is expected to grow to over $1 billion, and that’s still a big deal.

Friday’s Mega Millions drawing is worth an estimated $1.15 billion, is grabbing headlines and likely drawing more people to convenience stores with dreams of private spacewalks above Earth.

It doesn’t seem to matter that the top 10 jackpots in the country – not including this one – already boast ten-figure payouts. For many of us, something stirs inside when a number rises a dollar above $999,999,999.

“The question is, what happens when $1 billion becomes routine and people stop caring about it?” said Jonathan D. Cohen, author of the 2022 book “For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America.” .

“There is no simple round number after a billion,” Cohen said. “But also, how much money can a person possibly, possibly, possibly need?”

Meanwhile, Mega Millions ticket prices will increase from $2 to $5 in April. The increase will be one of many changes that officials say will result in improved jackpot odds, more frequent giant prizes and even bigger payouts.

Here is a brief history of lotteries and why jackpots are growing:

Cohen notes in his book that lotteries have existed in one form or another for more than 4,000 years.

In Rome, emperors and nobles hosted drawings at dinner parties and awarded prizes ranging from terracotta vases to enslaved people. As early as the 14th century, lotteries were used in Europe to finance city defenses and other public works.

Sweepstakes were common in the American colonies and helped finance the revolution against Great Britain. Cohen noted in his book that Thomas Jefferson supported lotteries, writing that they were a tax “imposed only on the willing.”

In the 19th century, lotteries fell out of favor in the United States amid concerns about fraud, mismanagement, and impact on poor people. But starting in the 1960s, states began legalizing them to address financial shortfalls without raising taxes.

“Lotteries were seen as a fiscal miracle, a chance for states to generate revenue seemingly out of thin air,” Cohen wrote.

When Mega Millions started in 1996, it was called “The Big Game” and only included six states. It was intended to compete with Powerball, which at the time covered 20 states and the District of Columbia.

The original payout for The Big Game started at $5 million. The value would be almost double what it is today if inflation is taken into account.

In 2024, the pre-tax price could buy a rare copy of the U.S. Constitution or cover Michael Soroka’s $9 million contract to pitch for the Washington Nationals next season

In contrast, pretax profits from Friday’s Mega Millions prize could theoretically buy a Major League Baseball team. The Nationals would be too expensive. But Forbes recently valued the Miami Marlins at $1 billion.

A better comparison might be Taylor Swift’s tour earnings at the end of 2023. Her Eras Tour was the first to gross more than $1 billion after selling more than 4 million tickets.

However, Swift was expected to gross a total of more than $2 billion by the end of her tour on December 8, according to concert trade publication Pollstar.

Today, Mega Millions and its lottery companion Powerball are sold in 45 states, as well as Washington, DC and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball is also sold in Puerto Rico.

In October, Mega Millions said it hoped higher ticket revenue and lower odds would lead to more people winning, even if prizes rose extraordinarily high.

Games with high payouts tend to be more popular despite the lower chances of winning. Larger jackpots also attract more media attention, increase ticket sales and attract new players, Cohen said.

According to Cohen, lottery officials have allowed the odds of winning to decrease and there is a larger pool of numbers to choose from. And that has made it harder to win games, resulting in the payouts turning into even bigger prizes.

The first billion-dollar jackpot was in 2016. Cohen said he expects the upward trend to continue.

Meanwhile, he warned against the troubled or bankrupt lottery winner tropes.

A well-known example is Andrew “Jack” Whittaker Jr. He won a Powerball record jackpot after purchasing a single ticket in 2002, but quickly fell victim to scandals, lawsuits and personal setbacks as he endured constant demands for money that threatened him made incapable of trusting others.

Most winners don’t feel the way he does, Cohen said.

“Even if we deny it, we all somehow believe in meritocracy — this belief that if you got your money through luck, you probably didn’t really deserve it,” Cohen said. And yet, various studies have shown that “lottery winners are happier, healthier and wealthier than the rest of us.”