Billionaire hopefuls wait to buy Powerball tickets

People showed up at convenience stores, groceries and gas stations across the country on Halloween hoping to find their own treat: a chance at Monday night's massive $1 billion Powerball jackpot.

Among them was Sally Tanner, who ventured to the Bluebird Liquor store in Hawthorne, California to purchase her tickets. The store attracts crowds of hopefuls when big prizes are waiting.

The biggest prize was a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot won by three ticketholders in 2016. No one has hit all six numbers since Aug. 3, a testament to how slim the odds are of winning the jackpot: 1 in 292.2 million. The $1 billion jackpot prize is for winners who opt to take the full amount piecemeal over 29 annual payments.

Nearly all winners opt for a lower cash payment, which for Monday's drawing would be an estimated $497.3 million. Powerball is played in 45 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.