CARY – The ever-increasing Powerball jackpot, now totaling $550 million, has driven people to gas stations and convenience stores around McHenry County in hopes to strike rich fast.

Lines of people kept cashiers busy at the Thorntons gas station in Cary during the lunch hour Wednesday, moments after lottery officials announced that the Powerball jackpot went from $500 million to $550 million.

Marry Robbins, of Grayslake, waited for a few minutes to buy her one Powerball ticket. She said she would buy houses for her family, open an animal shelter and build herself a "dream home," if she came away with the jackpot.