SWEETWATER, FLA. (WSVN) - The Powerball jackpot is still up for grabs, and South Florida residents and visitors eager to purchase tickets shared what they would do if they end up winning the big prize.
At Dolphin Mall on Wednesday, shoppers picking up last-minute Christmas gifts lit up at the mention of the $1.7 billion jackpot.
The prize has risen after months without a winner, and now local and out-of-town shoppers hope to get that Christmas Eve cha-ching.
“I’m going home rich, yes, from Pittsburgh, yes,” said a shopper visiting from Pennsylvania.
“She called me, she told me, we’re playing now, she called me, she said, we definitely gotta play,” added her family member.
7News asked these shoppers what they would do if they won the jackpot.
“When we get done with this cruise, me and my family would go to another island,” said the shopper from Pennsylvania.
“That’s my mother-in-law, wifey, we’re done, I’m going to marry her now,” joked the woman’s son-in-law.
Other shoppers’ answers varied when asked the same question.
“It’s impossible to think about it, I mean, I wouldn’t know,” said a man.
“I’d give it away. You can’t have that much money and not give it away,” said another man.
At My Market and Deli in Fort Lauderdale, several shoppers were testing their luck just before the next drawing.
“Those look like the winning numbers,” said a shopper visiting from Toronto. “I played. I need a $1 billion.”
Despite his baseball team coming up just short in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he hopes his luck turns out better.
“I’m hoping so, I’m hoping so,” he said.
Some hoped a lucky draw would make for an unforgettable Christmas gift.
“It’d be really fun to put this in my mom’s stocking and it actually won. Can you imagine?” said a shopper.
“I would make sure family is financially stable,” said LaTosa Simmons.
The excitement didn’t stop with shoppers.
Employees were keeping their fingers crossed to be the ones to sell the winning ticket.
“[They] could be from right here. We’re hoping,” said an employee. “Even if two or three people won that money, that would still be awesome.”
Meanwhile, others picked up their tickets from a 7-Eleven along Miller Drive and Southwest 67th Avenue in Southwest Miami-Dade with high spirits on their odds.
“We’re all very wishful that we have the winning ticket in hand and everything, and, you know what, it’s a blessing and we leave it to God,” said one man.
Each shopper told 7News that it may all come down to luck but the only way to win is by playing.
The Powerball drawing will take place Wednesday night.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.