Nebraskans Rush to Buy Tickets for $325 Million Powerball Jackpot

By: Rowena Li - Email

Updated: Sat 11:02 PM, Nov 24, 2012

With $325 million up for grabs, people rushed into gas stations Saturday to buy their chance at becoming a multimillionaire. Saturday's jackpot is the fourth largest in Powerball history.

"There's been a lot of people in here buying the Powerball just because it's up so high. People that normally wouldn't buy it are coming in to buy it," said Susie McCarthy, an attendant at the Conoco Motel gas station in Grand Island.

And those working the lottery kiosks said most people aren't just taking their chances with one ticket.

"Regular Saturday, it's pretty quiet, people buy maybe one or two. But they're buying like 10 or 20 of them," McCarthy said.

Some Powerball buyers were already making lists of what they could do with the money as they picked their numbers.

"Oh my gosh, with that I could pay off my house, so many things. A lot of things I could do with that," said Powerball player Martha Sandoval, noting that she would share her winnings with her family and charities.

There has been no jackpot winner since October 6. The winner can choose a cash lump sum of $212.8 million before taxes or the annuity option whereby he or she would receive the full $325 million minus taxes.