Look At The Lines Of People Buying Powerball Tix

The current Powerball jackpot is a staggering $1.5 billion, the largest lottery prize in history, so it's not surprising that hordes of people are lining up to buy tickets before Wednesday night's drawing. Because of the record-shattering jackpot, cities all over the U.S. are seeing record-breaking sales of tickets, with some stores running out of play slips. And along with the unprecedented jackpot and ticket sales are some of the longest lines the country's ever seen. Judging by these photos of people lining up to buy Powerball tickets from around the country, the lottery frenzy isn't going anywhere, well, until someone finally wins.

As we near the next Powerball drawing, which could crown one very lucky person the biggest jackpot winner in lottery history, numerous cities around the country are reporting skyrocketing ticket sales. In Sioux City, Iowa, where Joel Dominguez bought his ticket for last Saturday's drawing — he was one of 25 winners of the $1 million consolation prize — stores are reporting longer-than-usual lines and people purchasing five or more tickets each.

Vendors in Tulsa, Oklahoma, are also struggling to keep up with the voracious demand for Powerball tickets. And over in Windham, New Hampshire, stores have been running out of play slips, which allows you to enter your own numbers. The New Hampshire Lottery had to deliver 500,000 additional slips to stores around the state to accommodate the high volume of purchasers.

To give you an idea of the kind of demand these stores are experiencing, take a look at some of the insane lines forming around the country, all filled with people hoping to hit it big.

The long, winding lines outside lead into pure chaos inside the store, where throngs of people eagerly wait for their tickets to be printed. Many stores, like the Hy-Vee in Sioux City, have had to appoint extra people to help run their lotto machines. It's a safe assumption that many of these workers will be relieved when someone finally wins the jackpot.

If this current surge in Powerball ticket sales continues to grow, then it's possible that the jackpot amount will increase even further before Wednesday night's drawing, thus fueling the frenzy even more, like a vicious cycle. And if nobody wins the jackpot on Wednesday, then you can definitely expect the jackpot to swell some more.