At lucky Sacramento store, Powerball hopefuls line up for shot at $1.5 billion jackpot
A line of Powerball players wrapped around Lichine’s Liquor & Deli as they vie for the jackpot’s $1.5 billion prize.
The South Land Park store, at 7107 South Land Park Drive, has sold big winners three times in the last five years and Sacramento-area residents said its luck hasn’t run out ahead of the next drawing on Saturday night.
The weekend drawing will be the fifth-largest in Powerball history, following a Sept. 6 win by players in Missouri and Texas that claimed the game’s second-largest prize. No one has matched all five numbers and the Powerball since then, according to lottery officials.
Sabrina Moye stood in line on Friday morning, chatting with other people in line.
“I mean Lichine’s is known everywhere, so hopefully — you know, they’ve been on a winning streak,” Moye said. “So hopefully I’ll be that next customer to take home the jackpot.”
Inside the store, some met family members, while others called and texted friends to ask if they wanted them to buy tickets for them from the store.
Some even spent their brief time in line documenting the moment, like Saan Saephan. He took photos and video of the displays to share — just in case.
Saephan has come to Lichine’s twice in the last week to buy tickets, hoping to cash in on the store’s reputation to mint winners.
“The luck is always here. Because I feel it, because I believe it, because it has hit here. And, like I said, it’s a lucky store,” he said. “So I’m pretty sure someone is going to be lucky here again.”
Players have a 1-in-292.2 million chance of winning the jackpot. The odds of matching any prize is a little more reasonable at 1 and nearly 25.
The odds were just right for Edwin Castro, of Altadena, who won a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in 2022, the largest in the game’s history.
How to play the Powerball
To win the jackpot, players have to match all five white balls and the special red Powerball.
Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and prices vary by state. In California, the $2 ticket sales are cut off at 7 p.m. Pacific Time, the day of the drawing.
The Powerball jackpot grows until it is won.
Jackpot winners may choose to receive their prize as an annuity, paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or a lump-sum payment, according to the Powerball’s website. Both listed prize options do not include federal and jurisdictional taxes.
When is the next Powerball drawing?
Powerball drawings take place on Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:59 p.m. Pacific Time and can watched online a few minutes after the Tallahassee, Florida-based drawing.
Powerball is played in 45 states; Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This story was originally published December 19, 2025 at 2:30 PM with the headline "At lucky Sacramento store, Powerball hopefuls line up for shot at $1.5 billion jackpot."
