Lottery ticket sales are booming as players flock to their nearest convenience store to purchase a winning ticket for tonight’s nearly half-billion dollar Powerball. The pot is currently up to $425 million ($244.7 million cash value), as no one came forward with a winning ticket to the last Powerball. The doubled ticket prices (now $2) haven’t been off-putting to the most loyal of players, nor lottery greenies, alike; with such astronomical odds, it is obvious that everyone and their brother has been out to purchase their $2 ticket for the drawing that will take place tonight at 10:59 p.m. E.T.

According to powerball.com, your chances of winning a prize over $1 million are 1 in over 175 million…go figure. Saturday night was the last drawing for the Powerball and had no winners, which is what prompted the stakes for this week’s game to be so large.

Apparently there has been a wane in even the most faithful followers’ tendency to purchase tickets every week; then, when the pot doubles (or more), they run out to get their golden ticket.

Tonight’s game may set a new ‘world record’, as reported earlier by NBC News.