Many rush to get Powerball tickets as jackpot surges

People across the country rushed to get their hands on Powerball tickets Wednesday. That’s because the jackpot grew to a half a billion dollars.

No one has matched all six numbers in one of the bi-weekly drawings since the first of November. That means 17 drawings with no winner, making the jackpot one of the largest in U.S. history.

Convenience stores across the country and including in Austin have been busy selling tickets. Ashley is the assistant manager at the 7-11 in downtown. We've actually been very busy since 6 am this morning. We had over 150 customers, just Powerball, and at $20 a ticket, with the extra, so it's been blowing out.

This jackpot is the biggest since the $564.1 million Powerball prize shared by players from North Carolina, Texas, and Puerto Rico last February.

Shanilka Edwards from Fort Hood said it’s definitely fun to think about winning that kind of money. “First and foremost, I would definitely give back to my parents. I would give to world hunger, and I would try to pay a couple of college tuitions,” she said.

Michael Flake of Round Rock said he would have to think about it first.  “I’d have to go back and discuss it with my family, and take a day off and celebrate and have a bottle of champagne, get drunk and think about it and then go to the bank and cash it in and just have the rest of my life just paid for.”

The cash value option for this drawing right now is $306-million dollars. If no one wins Wednesday night, the jackpot will go up to a record breaking $675-million dollars for the Saturday drawing.