DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The Powerball jackpot has reached an eye-popping $1 billion, and with Wednesday night’s drawing approaching, people across Georgia are lining up for their chance to hit it big.
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At a convenience store off Hugh Howell Road in Tucker, the cost of dreaming big is just $2.
“You never know,” one customer said. “The slightest little hope.”
Another said the massive jackpot was enough to convince him to play.
“The pot’s close to a billion, if not more,” he said. “So, I think I got to just like everybody else.”
There hasn’t been a jackpot winner in nearly three months, allowing the prize to continue growing.
And as the jackpot gets bigger, so does the list of things players say they would do if their numbers came up.
“I figure after buying lottery tickets for 30 years, this would just about get me even,” one player joked.
Another said the size of the jackpot was enough to make him want to join in.
“Since the pie’s grown, I guess I’ll try with everybody else.”
The jackpot has even outgrown one of the screens at the Tucker store.
The display only goes up to $999 million, but store owner Mike Mohammed is making sure customers know just how big the Powerball prize has become.
“A lot of people that come to buy, they don’t know,” Mohammed said. “We say, like, you want to buy the Powerball or Mega Millions, they buy all those like that.”
And it doesn’t take long for players to start imagining what they would do with a billion-dollar fortune.
“I’d like to tell all my relatives, my nieces, go buy the car you want and I’ll pay for it,” one player said. “Pay off your house.”
Another said he wouldn’t need anything extravagant.
“About three bedrooms. I don’t need nothing too big.”
For others, the priority would be taking care of the people closest to them.
“Make sure my family’s well, and then me,” another player said.
And some say they aren’t necessarily counting on winning the entire jackpot.
“I don’t expect to win the big one,” one player said. “That’s why I play Power Play. Because if you win something, then you get the multiple.”
The estimated cash payout for Wednesday night’s $1 billion jackpot is about $433 million, before taxes.
And if a Georgia player does beat the odds, there’s another benefit: Georgia lottery winners can remain anonymous.
Winners have 180 days to claim the prize.
You can watch Wednesday night’s drawing on Channel 2 before WSB Tonight at 11 p.m.
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