Powerball Tickets Going Up in Price | Video

Rich Wisniewski | 1/14/2012

Ask anyone who`s dropping a dollar or two on a lotto ticket and they`ll likely tell you - it`s just a pipe dream, a long shot. But they`ll also tell you that you can`t win if you don`t play and there`s a lot of money at stake.

"To get rich," said one man as he bought his ticket.

On Saturday, Powerball tickets remain a big sell at Harley`s Gas Station. That could change however, starting tomorrow. The state is raising the price of tickets to two dollars apiece.

And you`ll still need to kick in another dollar if you want the Power Play option.

“I’m still going to buy them, because it still gives me the chance to win millions," said Brandon Valdez, who isn’t a regular player, but still enjoys throwing a dollar in every once in a while.

The decision to raise rates was not a choice that North Dakota Lottery Director Randy Miller said he wanted to make. But he says it was necessary in order to increase jackpots. "If we wanted to continue the Powerball game, we needed to offer it at the two dollar level," he explained.

Miller says Powerball jackpots will now start at $40 million. The Powerball drawings themselves will also draw more winners. He added that everyone who plays will soon have a slightly better chance of winning.

"The odds of winning the jackpot will go from one in 195 million to one in 175 million.”

And this weekend, many would-be winners were picking their lucky numbers and day dreaming about how they`d spend their potential millions.

"First I`d build a home and then I’d help out my friends and family," said Valdez.

Ted Hyduke, simply smiled and said with confidence, "Retire."

That is a dream shared by many.

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