Manila  - For the past three weeks, Filipinos from all walks of life and ages nationwide have been dreaming of the same thing: winning the biggest prize ever in Philippine lottery.

The Superlotto jackpot was estimated to reach a staggering 320 million pesos (6.6 million dollars) by Sunday after several winner-less draws since last month, according to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PSCO).

With millions of Filipinos lining up to place their bets throughout the country, queues are long outside lottery outlets, with many of them running out of betting cards for the Superlotto draw that is held three times a week.

"This is crazy," said one woman, who had to share a card with a construction worker to place her bets for Sunday's draw. "But it's a chance of a lifetime and I'd be crazier if I don't try my luck. The jackpot prize is huge!"

It took the woman almost one hour to place her bet at a lottery outlet Manila City shopping mall, just across the street from the back where she works.

"There goes my lunch break. Now, I don't have time to eat, but that's okay," she said, smiling after receiving her lottery ticket. "This is the winning ticket!"

Millions of Filipinos are hoping and praying too that they have the winning six-number combination, which they can choose from the numbers 1 to 49, to hit the jackpot. Each bet costs 20 pesos and bettors can place as many bets as they want or can afford.

In Manila's Quiapo district, 20-year-old April Delos Reyes attended Mass before placing her bet on the Superlotto.

Delos Reyes, a college student and the eldest of eight children, said winning such a big prize would be a life-changing experience for her family who live in a slum area in Manila.

"I hope my prayers will be answered, because life has really been hard," she said as she rushed to catch a mini-bus to her school, where she works part-time to help pay for her tuition. "I just want to be able to take my family out of the slums."

PCSO spokesman Larry Cedro said more people were expected to place their bets before Sunday's draw.

"This will be the biggest single jackpot in the history of Philippine lottery," he said. "Based on our projection, the jackpot this Sunday will be 320 million pesos already."

According to the PCSO, the previous biggest prize for the Superlotto reached 249 million pesos, which was won in April 2008 by a construction worker in the Manila suburban City of Quezon.

More than 1,300 Filipinos have become millionaires after winning in the lottery since 1995.

PCSO General Manager Rosario Uriarte said earnings from lottery tickets have been increasing since late last year, when economists warned of massive layoffs and more hardships ahead due to the global financial crisis.

Uriarte said she expects Filipinos to continue taking their chances on the lottery amid worsening poverty in the Philippines, where more than one-third of the population lives on less than 2 dollars a day.

"We need hope," she said. "This moves people to buy even one ticket every day. So that every day, they will have some kind of hope." (dpa)