MANITOWOC — As the Power Ball soars to a record high $1.6 billion, many Wisconsinites are rushing to grab their tickets and get take their chance at the jackpot. It's not just entrants hoping to win big though, local convenience stores have already seen a big boon from ticket sales.
“I would say it’s at least doubled our normal rate…" says Kim Lachapelle, a customer service representative at an A-store/Clark Gas in Manitowoc, "We have a lot of people coming in and wishing they’re buying that winning ticket…people are buying $10, $20, $500.”
The odds of winning are microscopic—officially listed at one in 292 million by the Power Ball—but that hasn't stopped people from taking their chance.
“I don’t really think about [the odds]," says Lachapelle, "you just hope that you’re one of those people who win.”
When someone eventually does win the life-changing prize, the question will shift to how to spend such a massive amount of money. For Genessa Schultz, who works at a Cenex in Manitowoc, her plans wouldn't change much if she won the lottery, they'd just be easier to pay for.
“College would be paid for and everything..." she says "I would definitely for sure still go to college and be working. I would still want to do athletic training, I love sports and stuff like that. I could go anywhere I wanted, I hadn’t really thought about that.”
The winning ticket is out there somewhere, and like millions of others, Ernie Swanson is hopeful his is the one.
“This is the winning power ball ticket.” He says, holding his ticket aloft, and smiling.
