Sean Stevens of Centereach shows off the Mega Millions tickets...

Sean Stevens of Centereach shows off the Mega Millions tickets he bought at the Whistle Stop Card Shop at the LIRR station in Ronkonkoma for a $400 jackpot drawing. (Dec. 12, 2013) Credit: Newsday / John Paraskevas

It's mega madness -- again.

A $400-million jackpot is up for grabs Friday night in the Mega Millions lottery game.

Customers bought about $1,000 in tickets Wednesday and Thursday at Cards N Things in Holbrook, well above the usual $200, clerk Piyush Patel said.

"They say, 'A dollar and a dream,' " he said with a chuckle. "They know they're not going to win."

Still, he said, he has $8 in the Mega Millions pool at his other job as an electrical technician.

The cash option is $216 million, according to the Mega Millions website. The game's biggest-ever jackpot, $656 million, was won in 2012 by three people.

Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, of Bay Shore, was killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His mother has made it her mission to aid active-duty service members, veterans, first responders and Gold Star families. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports. Credit: Randee Daddona; Photo credit: Cathy Heighter

'His sacrifice made a difference': Gold Star mother honors son's memory Army Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, 22, of Bay Shore, was the first serviceman from Long Island killed in the Iraq War.

Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, of Bay Shore, was killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His mother has made it her mission to aid active-duty service members, veterans, first responders and Gold Star families. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports. Credit: Randee Daddona; Photo credit: Cathy Heighter

'His sacrifice made a difference': Gold Star mother honors son's memory Army Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, 22, of Bay Shore, was the first serviceman from Long Island killed in the Iraq War.

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