$300M Powerball jackpot gives Tampa lottery fever

TAMPA (FOX 13) - Did you get your tickets?  Wednesday is another major Powerball jackpot night. The prize: a cool $300 million.

There's a lot you could do with that pile of cash. You could pack you bags like Bob Cunningham who said he'd head to "an island, probably in the Caribbean."

That is, after he's taken care of his two kids in college.

Or, you could take care of business like Robin Aragon. "Pay my bills and share with my family, I guess."

Any one of these dreams has a chance at the Powerball jackpot. It's 1 in 292.2 million chance. But, it's still a chance!

"If we win," Joe Khabbaz said he might "help the homeless, build a school and we are going to help the hospital for the kids."

People with all sorts of dreams lined up at the Tampa Marathon gas station on West Kennedy Boulevard and Howard Avenue, hoping those five white balls and one red Powerball would show their lucky numbers. What better way to kick off a new year than with a few extra zeroes in the bank account?

"I have maybe 6 or 7," Khabbaz said, looking at his tickets.

Lottery fever has spread worldwide. One man at the store showed us his cell phone as he took numbers from his mother in Jerusalem.

The Tampa Bay are has been home to several previous winners, most notably, the biggest in Powerball history.
  
Back in 2013, 84-year-old Gloria MacKenzie of Zephyrhills scored the $590.5 million dollar jackpot after buying a ticket at a local Publix. She went for the lump sum and after taxes, was $278 million dollars richer.

While chances are slim, it could happen. Someone has to win, right?

"Maybe this time, maybe this time," Khabbaz said.