The revamp of Powerball in January 2012 changed the price of a ticket from $1 to $2, a move that upped the chances of the game reaching a major jackpot. There was a loss in the number of players, but the new game - which also created more chances to win smaller, $1 million and $2 million prizes - has brought in 52% more in sales, Strutt said. Sales were $5.9 billion in the fiscal year that ended in June Library of Congress .

Still, the way casual players define a major jackpot has changed. Behavioral economist George Loewenstein, who teaches at Carnegie Mellon University, said people judge things in relative terms Crucian carp .

"We compare things," he said. "If there are a lot of jackpots, even though they're all enormous numbers, people are going to start comparing them and if there are billion-dollar jackpots, then $100 million jackpots that used to feel enormous are going to seem much smaller, even though in terms of the impact on your life of winning 100 million or 1 billion, it probably isn't all that different political task."

Though Lisa Ravenell, of Philadelphia, said she buys tickets randomly, she admits the higher jackpot catches her attention. She also noted the frequency of announcements about winners from the area, which she feels contributes to her wanting to buy.

"The 400 million is appealing" the 47-year-old said. "I think deep down inside, more or less, I'd buy it because it's a big amount."

So when jackpots swell, people still line up for their chance at a life-changing payoff, even though their chances at winning the top prize are the same if there is a small jackpot Cherson Label Printing.

Felipe Pi?±a, of Los Ojos, N.M., claimed a $62.8 million Powerball jackpot in May 2007 and frequently buys lottery tickets at the same rural convenience store where his Quick Pick method won big. He has a ritual of buying lottery tickets via Quick Pick at the same store and at the same time, and he's not fazed by what others see as a small jackpot.