Powerball Players Dreaming Of $320M Jackpot
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It's "a license to dream," as the Powerball jackpot once again climbs to near-record levels.
On the line in tonight's drawing is an estimated $320-million annuity or $213-million if you pick the cash option.
This is the second largest jackpot in the last six years, the only bigger one was a $336 million dollar annuity in February.
Steve Ricchini runs Steve's Newstand on the corner of 15th and Market, and says he bought a couple tickets himself, hoping for a piece of that jackpot. If he won, he says he'd retire from the newsstand business.
"What would I do? I would not be up at 4 o'clock in the morning, I can tell you that. Unless I was still awake from the previous night."
If Steve sells a jackpot-winning ticket, he gets a little bonus.
"I get a hundred thousand dollars, that's it. I'm hoping somebody wins and then they're a little generous, a little more generous than the Pennsylvania lottery."
If no one hits the jackpot Wednesday night, it could challenge the all-time record of $365-million back in 2006.
The Powerball drawing picks five white balls out of a drum with 59 balls and one red ball out of a drum with 35 red balls.
One tip from Powerball's website that makes sense -- there are 35 possibilities for the Powerball number, so if you go in on an office pool, pick at least one of all the possibilities to ensure you at least make a few bucks.
