With a half-billion-dollar multistate lottery jackpot up for grabs, Nevadans are waiting up to four hours in line to get their Mega Millions tickets.

People from Reno, Sparks and Northern Nevada began lining up outside the Hallelujah Junction, a one-stop gas and convenience store  near the Nevada border, at 6 a.m. on Thursday to get their $1 tickets.

By noon, there were more than 1,000 people in the line.

“I have never seen so many people inside one store,” said Jessie Rae Vaglivielo, a clerk at Hallelujah Junction.

Nobody matched all six numbers in Tuesday's regular draw, so the total jackpot has been growing since. With a $540 million total, the lump sum payment is estimated at $389.8 million, according to lottery officials. Winners can also take payments annually for 26 years.  It's the largest Mega Millions jackpot in history.

Mega Millions is played in 42 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands, but not in Nevada.

The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won was $390 million in March 2007, when the prize was split between two tickets sold in Georgia and New Jersey.

The drawing for the jackpot will occur Friday night.