Powerball Dreaming in Chattanooga

You could literally buy a small country with those winnings but that’s not how many of you would spend it.

"Buy me an island in Alaska and call it quits. Hunt and fish every day," said Brad Jones who is visiting Chattanooga on business from Texas.

"Maybe retire. Wouldn’t that be nice, to win a Powerball and every body would be able to go home and do what they want to do," said Betty Sinor of Chattanooga.

"Buy a bunch of land and go live on the land," said Clint Brock of Rome, Ga.

"I would retire and have all my family retire," said Amanda Elliott of Cleveland.

"I would move to the ocean and get away. Never come back to Chattanooga, Tennessee again," said Samantha Sanders of Jasper.

"Actually I would help the veterans. I’m a veteran myself and see how bad the government treats the vets now," said Justin Hornbeck of Chattanooga.

The Powerball numbers are drawn Wednesday and Saturday nights.

Winnings are taxed well over 25 percent.

44 states participate and there are currently no rules that say you have to be a U.S. Citizen.

So just how good are your odds at winning?

The numbers may surprise you.

"And this is your chance of winning," Dr. Lani Gao, a statistics professor at UTC, said. "So you see this chance is very, very small."

But if you don’t play, you have a zero chance of winning.

"Why not," Gao said. "Give it a try. I’m not expecting because the chances are so small but of course I would be super excited if I win."