Philly lottery players confident they'll win the jackpot
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Things are going so great around here, maybe a Phillies fan will win that big Powerball jackpot that's up for grabs. It's the second-largest jackpot in Powerball history, but Wednesday CBS3 learned not everyone is on board.
The Powerball jackpot has rolled over again after no one claimed the top prize Monday night.
"I just bought the winning ticket for the Powerball tonight, I'm gonna win," Cynthia Perkins, a Powerball player and confident winner-to-be, said.
Confidence is key as players have lottery tickets flying out of machines across the region.
The jackpot for Wednesday is now worth an estimated $1.2 billion.
"I feel incredibly lucky," Joseph Beatty, another Powerball player, said. "Phillies won, we are on a roll, we are hot and I think I should test my hand."
No one matched Monday's drawing meaning the jackpot will keep growing as it has for nearly three months.
That's the fourth-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history and the second-largest Powerball jackpot.
The cash-out option is estimated to be $596 million.
The last winning jackpot for $206 million on Aug. 3 was won by a person from near Pittsburgh.
The highest jackpot ever, $1.5 billion, was split between three winners in 2016.
But at $2 per play and with odds of about 1 in 292 million, not everyone is feeling the Powerball fever.
"I'm not buying no tickets because I think it's all a gimmick. They just take your money. I don't know anyone that's ever won, I don't know anyone that knows someone who won," a lottery player said.
But for those who are, the $1.2 billion prize is worth going against the odds.
"I can't imagine," Perkins said. "Imma get me and my people out of this town and our family. We're gonna go to a nice peaceful quiet place. I have it all planned out, it's gonna happen, I wrote it down. I know it's one in a billion chances but it's my turn, it's my turn."
If there's no winner tonight that prize will just keep growing.
