The line to buy Powerball tickets at the Nevada to California border line today is UNREAL!!!! 😳 pic.twitter.com/prehiIeM3i
— Dan Fleyshman (@danfleyshman) January 13, 2016
So we’re only a short amount of time away from the drawing for Wednesday’s record setting $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot drawing. Most people have already bought their normal tickets and a few extra, but there are still many out there who seem to think they need to wait until the last moment to buy a ticket.
All across Twitter, folks are posting the craziness at their local gas station, convenience store, and grocery store. Almost everywhere has a lottery store these days. These poor souls have decided it is better to stand in line for a shot at the big money than to even attempt doing something more constructive. And worse yet, they’re not alone. There are similar scenes all around the country.
Refugees?
Nope, Powerball line. pic.twitter.com/sucOe5z7re— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) January 13, 2016
Line for Powerball at the convenience store near BuzzFeed LA. Clerk says one person bought 17,800 tickets there. pic.twitter.com/MLaks9PywS
— Jim Dalrymple II (@Dalrymple) January 14, 2016
The line for Powerball tickets snakes through McLanahan’s. pic.twitter.com/jyczO9YTz5
— Onward State (@OnwardState) January 13, 2016
Line in the lobby of NPR because our CEO bought a #Powerball ticket for every full-time employee. #nprlife pic.twitter.com/GbVu0CC094
— Brakkton Booker (@brakktonbooker) January 13, 2016
The #Powerball line into Kavanagh Liquors begins at the other end of the block and then snakes inside the store. pic.twitter.com/bzRtCgPHm3
— Sergio Quintana (@svqjournalist) January 10, 2016
Even worse are the folks who drive for hours to cross into another state and buy tickets. These folks apparently drove for hours to grab some Powerball tickets in the pouring rain.
https://twitter.com/TyishaWSB/status/685972588032557056
Check out the #Powerball line for tickets into Kavanagh Liquors in San Lorenzo! It goes all the way down the block. pic.twitter.com/YpDLL7pCMB
— Sergio Quintana (@svqjournalist) January 10, 2016
Line keeps growing @ Haralson Co gas station-Folks from AL crossing into GA to buy powerball ticket @FOX5Atlanta pic.twitter.com/1gguNgBqPF
— Nathalie Pozo (@WPBF_Nathalie) January 13, 2016
And if that wasn’t enough, the tickets are even popping up in the hands of several people in China. Sellers in the United States are using the Chinese site Taobao to sell their tickets to folks on the other side of the world. That means if you buy a load of $2 tickets, like those fine folks in Florida, you can sell them for $3 a pop to someone in China and possibly guarantee a nice profit according to NBC news:
“Before I only knew Americans who wanted to buy Powerball tickets, but I started to sell lottery tickets a few days ago because the huge prize money has made more and more Chinese people notice Powerball,” he said. “I think I can make some money from this. I charge 25 yuan ($3.80) per ticket and I will charge a 10 percent service fee if the buyers win the big pot.”
And don’t worry, there are ways to get the money to someone in China if they do happen to win:
“If the customers win a prize below $100, we will collect the money and transfer the money to them electronically through Alipay,” Dong said. “If they win the super prize, I think we should negotiate how we can get the money to them. It is not safe to help them to collect so much money in that situation and we suggest that customers should hire a lawyer or financial consultant to get more professional advice if this really happens.”
Here’s what the scene will look like if someone in China takes the prize:
The #Powerball line right now: pic.twitter.com/qpNgz2QTDS
— TrivWorks (@TrivWorks) January 9, 2016
Not going to be pretty.
(Via NBC News)