ST. PETERSBURG - He rode his bike down Sixth Avenue N, dreaming as fast as he could pedal. He pictured a black Mercedes convertible. A new wardrobe. A Snell Isle home for his mother.
Michael Ebeling is 21 years old, working construction, taking college classes, trying to decide on a profession.
But at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Ebeling wasn't thinking about his goals.
He was thinking about getting lucky.
He dropped his bike outside the Bay Food Mart on Fourth Street N, walked inside, asked for a Florida Lotto ticket.
"Man, I need to win this tomorrow," Ebeling said.
Thousands of people stopped by groceries and convenience stores across Florida, hoping for a chance at the estimated $60-million jackpot.
It's the highest Lotto jackpot in the nation and the 13th-highest in Florida since the Lotto began in 1988. The next drawing is at 11 p.m. tonight.
Lottery officials expect buying to peak between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., with 22,000 tickets being sold every minute.
If no one wins tonight, the jackpot will roll over to Saturday, reaching an estimated $75-million. The highest in state history occurred in 1990, when six winning tickets shared $106.5-million.
A single winner could receive $2-million over 30 years, or a lump payment of about $32-million.
