Waiting times at the corner store may be a bit longer than usual Friday with a $70 million Lotto Max jackpot up for grabs, the largest lottery prize offered in Canadian history.

“Sales really do increase once we reach that $50 million jackpot,” Dita Kuhtey, a spokesperson with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, told the Star.

“About 50 per cent of all sales take place the day of the draw.”

Lotto Max raised the jackpot cap to $70 million last May, after a $60 million cap was set in 2015.

One ticket has won the $65 million jackpot twice in the last six months, the previous biggest prize given out in this country.

In June, a Montreal family took home the $65 million jackpot, and in October, there was one winning ticket sold in the Prairies for the same amount.

Those hoping to cash in this week have until 10:30 p.m. Friday night to purchase a ticket.

The odds of winning the main jackpot is about one in 33,294,800 per $5 play, according to the OLG.

Miriam Lafontaine is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @mirilafontaine

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