Lotto fever breaks out in Chicago area ahead of Powerball drawing for $1B jackpot

SKOKIE, Ill. (WLS) -- Lotto fever has broken out throughout the Chicago area, as $1 billion is on the line in Wednesday night's Powerball jackpot.

On Wednesday morning, the Illinois Lottery was hosting a chance to grab free tickets.

One thousand Powerball tickets were expected to be given away at Kostner Korner in Skokie. Kostner Korner, located at 4356 W. Howard St., is one of Illinois Lottery's top five "winningest" Powerball stores.

SEE ALSO: Powerball lottery jackpot at $1B for winning numbers drawing Wednesday

"We are so excited; I cannot explain my excitement," Kostner Korner Owner Bhupen Patel said.

Wednesday's event was from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and players were placed in a Ticket Grab machine for five seconds to grab as many free Powerball tickets as they could.

One man was feeling lucky. He's one of the countless many hoping to be the next big Powerball winner.

Barbara Hendrix is in that same group.

"I'm from a big family; all my family would be taken care of, bills, all of that, student loans. My son's a DePaul graduate. That would be taken care of, as well," Hendrix said. "Why not? And for a chance to win a billion dollars, it can't hurt>'

The Powerball jackpot for Wednesday night's drawing is the third largest Powerball jackpot and seventh largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history after no one matched all five winning numbers and the winning Powerball number.

The lucky winner can opt for a cash lump sum of $516.7 million or spread out the haul annually for the next 30 years to receive the full billion.

"It is so exciting; it gives people hope," Kostner Korner store manager Susan Lynch said.

Illinois Lottery Communications Director Meghan Powers said regardless of who collects the big prize, Illinois is still a winner.

"Forty cents of every dollar spent on a dollar spent on a Powerball ticket goes to K through 12 education in Illinois," Powers said.

National ticket sales have doubled from this same time last week.

The odds of winning the jackpot are over one in 292 million.

You're more likely to be killed in a vending machine accident or give birth to identical quintuplets, than win.

"People can get killed by sharks, and people do die underneath vending machines; it could happen," said Jonathan Gottesmann, one lottery ticket buyer. "I'd like to help people. I definitely would claim with my brothers and sisters, my children and I'd have to bring in some nieces and nephews."

ABC News contributed to this report.