New Jerseyans hit their local convenience stores on Wednesday to buy lottery tickets before the big Powerball drawing that has a jackpot of $850 million.

The Krauszers in Avenel is no stranger to a winning ticket. Employee Sanjay Patel says they’ve had several winners. Nothing nearly this big, but a win, nonetheless.

"More than six to seven times, people win cash prize,” says Patel.

As the jackpot goes up, shoppers at Krauszer's hope some of that good luck will rub off on them.

Julia Salsano says she only plays when there’s a big pot and she has a strategy.

"I have my numbers. I have my birthdays and that’s how I do it,” she says.

The Powerball went up Monday night after no one matched all six numbers. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292 million. If there is a winner in this drawing, they can take the yearly payments or a lump sum of almost $400 million.