Frenzy escalates for $280 million Powerball prize

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- The rush to take home this weekend's estimated $280 million Powerball jackpot reached a fever pitch Thursday, even prompting a Connecticut border town and four outlying communities to suspend ticket sales because of safety concerns.

Connecticut Lottery officials granted a request from Greenwich officials to not sell Powerball tickets on Friday. Greenwich, on the New York border, is one of several cities and towns across the country being invaded by lottery hopefuls from neighboring states.

The Powerball frenzy intensified after Wednesday night's drawing for a $193.5 million jackpot failed to produce a winner. Officials estimate Saturday's jackpot could reach $280 million.

Wednesday's winning numbers were 2, 36, 39, 30, 28 and powerball No. 10.

VIDEO Watch the Powerball lottery drawing (August 22) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) CNN's Skip Loescher experiences Powerball fever with ticket buyers (August 22) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   MORE STORIES • Police relieved in Greenwich   • CNNfn.com: Alternative investment options for lottery players     RESOURCES • In Focus: Financial planner: If you win Powerball   • CNN Access: Powerball expert: 'I'd rather play blackjack'     Powerball odds: If you buy 50 tickets a week, the odds are that you would win once every 30,000 years. If every Canadian's name were in a hat, you would be 2 1/2 times more likely to pick a particular name than to win the lottery. Biggest-ever jackpots: $363 million: 2 tickets on May 9, 2000; Big Game $295.7 million: 1 ticket on July 29, 1998; Powerball $197 million: 1 ticket on April 6, 1999; Big Game $194.5 million: 1 ticket on May 20, 1998; Powerball $151 million: 1 ticket on June 30, 1999; Powerball $150.2 million: 3 tickets on March 4, 2000; Powerball $130.6 million: 1 ticket on Nov. 29, 2000; Powerball $130 million: 2 tickets on Nov. 4, 2000; Millennium Millions

Each of the many millions of tickets sold has a 80-million-to-1 chance of making someone a multimillionaire. But the steep odds have not stopped tens of thousands from buying tickets, even traveling long distances and standing in long lines to do so.

Greenwich officials made a "formal request to suspend sales of Powerball tickets, citing concerns for public health and the safety of town residents," lottery spokesman Diane Patterson said Thursday.

Patterson said there have been no incidents in which safety has been at risk, although a flood of would-be winners from New York has swelled lottery lines, with some people saying they waited more than an hour outside stores to buy tickets.

"It's disturbing to the town," said Susan Harris, a Greenwich resident. "I've lived here for 12 years and it's really hard. And every time the jackpot gets big, the crowd comes out."

Tickets for Wednesday's prize sold at a rate of 53,000 a minute, or 3.2 million per hour, in 21 states and the District of Columbia -- a pace that could quicken with an extra $90 million on the line Saturday night.

"That's a lot of tickets," said Powerball spokesman Joe Mahoney.

In Moorhead, Minnesota, just across the border from Fargo, North Dakota, hundreds of people packed the M&H Convenience Store, the largest Powerball seller in the state since a lucky resident won about $48 million on a ticket bought there four years ago.

"Everybody's dreaming today," manager Marcie Felix said. "I've got four extra employees on, I've got lines out the door and they've been non-stop since yesterday."

She said most people bought 10 to 20 tickets at a time, with businesses purchasing as many as 200 to 300 tickets apiece. She said the fact the store had a previous winner helps business.

In Maysville, Kentucky, at the Ohio border, Citgo manager Nancy Bess said the lines were about three times the normal size.

"It's crazy," she said.

The story was the same in Caney, Kansas, where Bill Owens bought a few tickets and was keeping his fingers crossed.

"Anything's possible in that Powerball business. I usually do the scratchers and I've been pretty lucky on them," Owens said.

The largest state lottery jackpot ever was $363 million -- a Big Game prize won by two ticket holders on May 9, 2000. The largest Powerball payout was $295.7 million, won by a single ticket holder on July 29, 1998.

Powerball tickets are sold in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

Colorado is the newest state in the game, having just joined a few drawings ago.