There are more than a billion reasons to dream big Friday.

Excited lottery players clamored to buy Mega Millions tickets Friday — as the expected jackpot for the 11 p.m. drawing soared to nearly $1.3 billion, the third highest in US history.

“Who wouldn’t be excited to be a billionaire? I could use that money!” Shaun Bryant, 51, said as he bought a ticket at a newsstand in midtown Manhattan.

“Tickets sales go up maybe 30 to 35 percent,” a worker at Manhattan’s Gardenia Deli on 30th street said.

“Most people don’t have enough money to spend … This happens once every 20 years or so,” he said.

Anyone lucky enough to pick the right numbers would get the $1.28 billion if patient enough to get it paid annually over 29 years.

Those wanting cash would get around $747.2 million — shrinking to $457.5 million for a New York winner after state and federal taxes.

Still, it is the third biggest jackpot in US history, and only the fourth time the tally has toppled the $1 billion mark. The Mega Million tickets are being sold in 47 states and jurisdictions such as the Virgin Islands and Washington D.C.

A steady stream of excited players headed to Lucky Choice Convenience, the aptly named Manhattan store that sold an $8.3 million LOTTO ticket in November.

“Everyone wants the money. You don’t play, you don’t win,” Lucky Choice’s manager, who only gave the his name as Ali, said Friday as he celebrated a noticeable uptick in sales.

“People are buying in all amounts — $5, $10, $100,” he said.

Upper West Sider Kevin Miller, 45, who works in television, bought nearly $50 worth of tickets at the lucky West 72nd Street store.

“I’m not confident that I’ll win, but I thought I’d give it a shot,” he said. “I saw that this store already sold a winning ticket in the last, so the chances of having more is possible.”

Teacher Rian Gutierrez, 38, felt confident enough of his “good karma” to buy just one ticket, saying he was boosting his chances by “wearing my lucky shirt.”

“I actually never play it,” he said, saying he only tries his luck “after like $100 million.”

Jaclyn Silvestri, a 36-year-old drama teacher from the East Village, spent $10 on tickets there because a coworker “was really excited about this place” and “said there are some good vibes happening.”

“I feel like it’s a one-in-a-million chance of winning,” she said — vastly underestimating the actual odds, which are a staggering one in 302.5 million.

Still, “If you don’t play, you’re just on the sidelines,” noted one 50-year-old player, who only gave a first name, Steve, as he bought tickets from a newsstand in midtown.

He had extra reason to want to win, he pointed out. “I just lost my job” and “my mom is sick,” he said of his dreams to look after his family.

Attorney Andrew Vita, 36, said he was “as confident as anyone can be.”

“I mean I hope I win, but those odds you know,” he said.

The $1.3 billion prize will be the second-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history, beaten only by the $1.537 billion won by an anonymous South Carolina player in October 2018.

Even that was beaten by the Powerball, however, which in January 2016 had the biggest-ever US lotto win at $1.586 billion, which was split between three players.

Both those could of course be at risk if no one picks the right numbers Friday — just like in the last 29 drawings since April 15, when $20 million was won in Tennessee.

Still, in that time, 42 people have each one at least $1 million, including two from New York and another two from New Jersey in the last drawing alone.

David Schwartz, a professor and gaming historian at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said that the overwhelming odds against winning were unlikely to put off big-dreaming Americans.

“I think people have an understanding there are pretty slim odds, but on the other hand, somebody has to win,” he said.

“The driving force behind lotteries is that one ticket isn’t that expensive but you have a chance for a huge, huge payoff.”