AND THE WINNERS ARE 6-8-16-30-32; BIG GAME SPURS EXCITEMENT AT $230 MILLION

People hoping to win well over $200 million in the multistate Big Game drawing plunked down more money than expected Friday.

The jackpot had passed $230 million before the numbers were drawn Friday night. The jackpot swelled from $5 million to $230 million after going eight weeks without a winner.

The winning numbers selected Friday night were 6-8-16-30-32. The Big Money Ball was 26.

Half-hour waits were not uncommon in places where tickets were sold, including the Purple Crackle Lounge in East Cape Girardeau, Ill..

Just after noon on Friday the waits to buy tickets at the Purple Crackle took about 45 minutes.

The jackpot is the largest in Big Game history, which is played in seven states -- Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Virginia. It is the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history. The largest U.S. lottery jackpot ever was $295.7 million in 1998.

With the near record jackpot, almost everyone wants at least one chance to win.

Many Missourians have gone to Illinois the past few days to join in on the ticket-buying hysteria. Crowds of customers from non-Big Game states packed into border grocery stores and gas stations everywhere to try and beat the game's 76-million-to-1 odds.

A spokesperson at the Purple Crackle said, "Sales are jumping."

A lot of Big Game "pools" were formed, with a number of participants in each one ranging from 10 to 100 of even more.

"I'm buying only one ticket," said Steve Montgomery of Chaffee. "I'm just playing because it's so high. I hardly ever play otherwise."

Montgomery and Scott Maintz were among a crowd of about 40 persons inside the Crackle early Friday afternoon.

"Maintz, a barber at Kingsway Barber in Cape Girardeau, said he would use the money to build a home and take an extended vacation.

Donna Gross, an employee at a hospital in Cape Girardeau, said she was buying 21 tickets -- "one for me and 20 for other people."

Hugh David of Cape Girardeau was also buying a number of tickets: a few for himself and several for friends.

One man had driven 40 miles and stood in line 45 minutes to purchase tickets. "Chances are slim, but if you don't buy a ticket you don't have a chance," he said.

Retailers receive varying amounts for selling the winning ticket. Some receive $10,000, others $25,000, and some so much a ticket.