Tomorrow one person in the United States could be living the American dream, $250 million (£178 million) richer. The Powerball lottery jackpot, operated from Des Moines, Iowa, has reached a record level after nobody won last Saturday's $138 million prize.
Thousands of people are getting into cars and driving long distances to buy tickets for tomorrow's draw. The lottery is legal in only 20 of the 50 states and in Washington DC. So gamblers outside those states have to travel to grocery stores and petrol stations in the nearest state where tickets are on sale.
As Powerball is not on sale in New York, huge numbers from there are rushing to Greenwich, Connecticut, to buy the ticket which they hope will fulfil their dreams. The odds, by the way, of winning are 80 million to one.
Mr Ashok Sheth, owner of the Greenwich Cigar Store, says that people have waited up to eight hours in a queue to buy tickets. "This has created a lot of aggression towards us," he said. "It is growing absolutely out of control. This is not our primary business, and people are scared to come into the store to buy other things."
The previous record Powerball jackpot was $195 million in May. Players choose five white numbered balls from a pool of 49 and a red Powerball from a pool of 42 numbers. A ticket costs one dollar. In tomorrow's game players can choose $250 million in annual payments over 20 years or take a onetime cash payment of $137 million.
Only one lottery game had a bigger purse than this week's Powerball. Last year's Christmas lottery in Spain called El Gordo or "The Fat One" had a $270 million purse, but the grand prize was only $2 million.