Oregonians scramble for Powerball tickets as jackpot rises over $800 million

OREGON. (KPTV) - $825 million is on the line for Saturday night’s Powerball drawing and folks are making sure to buy their tickets.

“Saw $825 million and I’m like, ‘yeah why not?’” Joseph Hollcraft said.

Oregonians like Hollcraft are taking their chance to win big, no matter the odds. Though, the Oregon Lottery said your odds are the same whether you pick numbers yourself or get them randomly generated.

“I mean, I don’t think I’m gonna win but I don’t necessarily think I’m NOT gonna win,” Hollcraft said.

“I just bought $46 of Powerball, hopefully we’ll win,” Trevor Barron said.

Some people who stopped into Plaid Pantry off of Northwest Cornell Road didn’t initially plan to buy a ticket until they saw the bright sign that said the Powerball was over $800 million.

It’s the second-largest jackpot in Powerball’s history.

“I just bought a Powerball ticket for the first time and I’m pretty excited,” Casey Bannister said.

But what would they do if they hit the jackpot? They had a few practical answers.

“I guess a major thing would be a house and a car,” Bannister said.

There were some selfless plans too.

“I’d address the homeless issue in Portland,” Hollcraft said.

“I know one thing for sure I’d pay, or at least make a college account for my friend’s little sister so she could go to college,” Barron said.

Copyright 2022 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.