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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. The Powerball jackpot of $320 million for Wednesday drew hopeful contenders to their local delis and stationery stores, including Cindey Jazmin.
The Bronx resident, who is a caseworker at the YWCA in White Plains, stopped Wednesday afternoon at Freshie's on Martine Avenue to try her luck. She said she doesn't play the lottery often, but takes a shot on the big ones. If Wednesday's drawing falls in her favor, Jazmin said, she would first pay for her 9-year-old daughter's Catholic school tuition. Then, she said, she would think about buying a house.
The drawing for the record-setting $320 million jackpot is at 10:59 p.m. Wednesday. The prize is Powerball's fourth-biggest annuity prize ever and has a cash value of $213.3 million.
Charmaine Walker, a baby sitter in White Plains, said she would go home to Jamaica, where much of her family still lives. Unlike Jazmin, Walker said she plays the lottery every week hoping her dreams come true.
The owners of Freshie's said they saw a slight uptick in business because of the Powerball jackpot. Similar jackpots in the past would draw a line of people going down the block, something they said hasn't happened since the 2008 recession hit.
Workers at the 7-Eleven on Martine Avenue said they also saw a moderate increase in traffic Wednesday due to the Powerball.
The chance of winning the jackpot is 1 in 175,223,510, according to the New York State Lottery, and the prize will increase if no one wins Wednesday's drawing. Powerball drawings take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
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