Dream On: Powerball Pot At $340M

It's the stuff of dreams. Fantasies, even.

The jackpot in the multi-state Powerball lottery Wednesday is a record $340 million.

CBS News correspondent Thalia Assuras says the sum's been building since the middle of August. There have been 20 draws without a winner.

Ticket buying is booming in the 27 states where Powerball is played.

"The store opens at 5:30," one manager in Washington, D.C., tells Assuras, "and people were already waiting outside in the parking lot."

Sixty percent of Powerball tickets are bought on the day of the drawing so, says Assuras, the smart money would be on purchasing that little dream-inspiring slip of paper earlier, rather than later, to avoid long lines.

People hope they have winning systems in picking their numbers. One man explained: "Five of them, I let the machine pick, and the rest, I picked my birth dates of mine, the kids and the family."

But face it, Assuras says, hitting the jackpot has nothing to do with strategy.

It's all about chance, and you have a greater chance of being hit by lightning than winning. Still, you have a better chance of hitting the jackpot than being crushed by an asteroid.

Would-be winners often dream of using the winnings for sensible things, such as paying for college. But, Assuras says, fashionistas could consider 28 jewel-heavy fantasy bras from Victoria's Secret at $12 million each. Or spend time with the new James Bond, Daniel Craig, if you pony up the $100 million budgeted for his first film.