Another jackpot surpasses $1 billion. Is this the new normal?

Remember this moment because it probably won't last: A U.S. lottery jackpot is projected to soar above $1 billion, and that's still a big deal.

Friday’s Mega Millions drawing is worth an estimated $1.22 billion, evoking headlines and likely luring more people to convenience stores with dreams of private spacewalks above the Earth.

It doesn't seem to matter that the nation's top 10 jackpots — not including this one — already have boasted 10-figure payouts. For many of us, something stirs inside when a number ticks one dollar above $999,999,999.

“The question lurking is, what happens when $1 billion becomes routine and people don’t care about it anymore?” said Jonathan D. Cohen, author of the 2022 book “For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America.”