Thousands expected to pack stores for chance to win Powerball - NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

Someone could become an instant millionaire Wednesday night. The Powerball jackpot is up to $320 million.

If you're planning on buying a ticket, you might want to do it sooner rather than later. Long lines of hopeful winners are expected.  

Wednesday could be a busy day for convenience store owners. The Virginia Lottery expects to sell 1.1 million tickets. That's more than 2,000 tickets a minute.

Store owners say the lottery machines can only print a set amount of tickets at a time, so there are often long lines when the jackpot gets this high. Many people that usually don't play will buy a ticket while many of the regulars will buy more tickets than they usually do. 

Everyone is dreaming about what they could do with this jackpot. The winner can opt for 30 yearly payments or a lump sum of $200 million before taxes.

Eight tickets have been sold in Virginia in the last two years that have won one million dollars.A Hopewell man won $125,000 in a Virginia Lottery Scratcher game. Jose Figueroa, an army retiree, won the prize in the Queen of Hearts. He bought the winning ticket at a Miller Mart on James River Drive in Hopewell.

But as the billboards around the state say, your odds of getting the top price are one in 176 million. The Powerball drawing will be Wednesday night at 11. 

Copyright 2012 WWBT NBC12.  All rights reserved.