Powerball fever grips region

<span>A private island? Million-dollar mansion? A guest role in the latest Hollywood blockbuster? The possibilities seem endless.</span>

<span>As Wednesday night's drawing of the U.S. lottery-record $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot nears, the get-rich-quick fever continued to spread across Randolph County and the nation this week.</span>

<span>"(People) are buying multiple tickets," said Shane Maxey, manager at Chester MotoMart, who noted that his store sold a $250,000 Mega Millions winner in the mid-2000s. "People usually spend $10, while you will see $2 here or there."</span>

<span>The odds are astronomical with a 1-in-292.2 million chance of hitting all six numbers. The odds are better to be struck by lightning while drowning (1 in 183 million) or being killed by a vending machine (1 in 112 million).</span>

<span>"I think it's just the fact that it's hopes and dreams," Maxey said. "A lot of people say you can't win if you don't play."</span>

<span>No one hit all six numbers in Saturday's $949.8 million drawing and Wednesday's jackpot is twice as large as the previous biggest U.S. lottery prize - a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot in 2012 that was split by three tickets in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland.</span>

<span>The Illinois ticket was purchased by a Red Bud couple - Merle and Patricia Butler - at the MotoMart in Red Bud, with the Butlers taking home a $218 million share of the pot.</span>

<span>"It's really high-energy," said Denise Metzger, manager of Red Bed MotoMart, of the Powerball craze. "It's a lot of fun. It's been very busy, but it's a fun busy."</span>

<span>After it was announced that her store sold the winner, Metzger said she was fielding calls from around the world.</span>

<span>"With the attention that the store got the last time, I would say the attention would be double, if not quadruple," she said, when asked what the reaction would be if her store sold another winner. "We got calls from Australia, Japan, ABC, plus the buzz about who won is always fun."</span>

<span>Lottery officials say the odds of winning are slightly better if participants let the computer pick the numbers rather than doing it themselves.</span>

<span>People who choose birthdates or other favorite numbers generally pick numbers 31 and below, despite Powerball having 69 numbered balls.</span>

<span>"I would say 95 percent are using quick picks," Metzger said. </span>

<span>Superstition also plays a part for those hoping to win big.</span>

<span>"We still get folks come in who don't normally stop by because we sold a winner," Metzger said. "They want a little bit of that luck."</span>

<span>Ed Conder, captain of the towboat "Jake Huffty" and a 36-year veteran of the Mississippi River, said he would buy a fleet of helicopters to travel the world in if he won the prize.</span>

<span>"That would be enough, I think," Conder said. "I think I could take very good care of my kids with that."</span>

<span>Conder added that he would donate 10 percent to his church.</span>

"I figured it would be intervention if I won it," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.