People began lining up early Friday morning at one of the Bay Area's luckiest lottery retailers for a shot at the record breaking $800 million Powerball jackpot, the largest jackpot of any lottery game in U.S. history.
Tickets sales at the Dixon Landing Chevron gas station off Interstate Highway 880 in Milpitas have been steady ever since the lottery machines started operating at 6:15 a.m.
Lottery hopefuls flock to this spot because the gas station sold a winning $425 million Powerball ticket in April 2014.
Rudy Ruecker and his wife, Lupe, waited patiently in their pickup truck for the lottery counter to open. They dropped $40 on 20 tickets.
Reucker said he realized the 1-in-292 million odds are against him.
"I'm more likely to get hit by lightning,” he said. Then he added: “Can't win if you don't play."
If one of Reucker’s tickets matches all five numbers plus the Powerball, he will receive just over $428 million before taxes. That would be enough for him, as he said, to "buy the Oakland Raiders. Keep them in town!" He also said he probably buy several houses and donate a bunch to charity.
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If no one else wins Saturday night’s drawing, the jackpot is expected to grow to $1 billion.
