Powerball ticket buyers hold hundreds of other dreamers in their hands — VIDEO

WHITE HILLS, Ariz. — Hundreds lined up outside the Last Stop convenience store Tuesday for the chance to become billionaires.

The line weaved around souvenir racks, past a near-empty restaurant and alongside wacky outdoor murals including an illustration of Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Terminator" character standing with the Blues Brothers.

But a simple eyeballing of the long line doesn't reveal the full scope of the lottery frenzy. These customers represent hundreds more family members, friends and co-workers who have also staked a claim, with their help.

More than 50 percent of those interviewed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal at the store Tuesday said they were buying tickets for people other than themselves.

Such family and office pools have become common enough that there are even cellphone apps dedicated to the task, such as Lottery Pool Boss.

Located off U.S. Highway 93, about 30 miles south of Hoover Dam, Last Stop advertises a gun range and a "world famous" burger, but it's mostly known as a lotto ticket destination for Nevadans who can't play in the Silver State.

Tiffany Amezcua, 34, the store's property manager, said she has seen some people spend at least $1,000 on tickets, including one woman who bought $2,500 worth of tickets for employees of the car dealership where they work.

Amezcua estimates the store has sold at least 500,000 tickets over the past week and a half. At $2 a ticket, that's $1 million.

With the Powerball prize at $1.5 billion as of Tuesday afternoon — the largest in U.S. history — Nevada residents are swarming to the nearest convenience stores in California and Arizona that sell tickets.

A convenience store about 44 miles southwest of Las Vegas near Primm Valley remains a popular location, but many people are willing to drive about 60 miles to stores in Arizona such as Last Stop and Rosie's Den Cafe that claim to have shorter wait times.

On Tuesday morning, Tony Brown, 27, had been waiting in line for about an hour to buy tickets for himself and Las Vegas co-workers. Brown and 24 others in his group each put in $5 and agreed to split any winnings 25 ways.

Brown joked that his co-workers should have signed a contract.

"I told everyone that if it paid a billion, that I would drive down," Brown said. If no one wins this week, Brown said he might return and do it all over again next week.

Theresa Thornton, 58, purchased 60 tickets Tuesday morning for family and friends, but there was no agreement among them to split the money.

With the winnings, Thornton said she would use the money to pay off bills, buy a house and donate to charities for military veterans such as the Wounded Warrior Project and the Gary Sinise Foundation.

"Those are two things that are close to my heart," said Thornton, who has at least one family member in every branch of service.

Inside the restaurant, away from the noise and chatter of the line, two friends sat down awaiting their "world famous" burgers. Stacy Galloway, 46, and Dan Thompson, 62, said they hadn't put much thought into actually winning when they drove from Las Vegas to buy tickets.

"I figured I might as well get into the history of this," said Galloway, who has played only once before. Galloway said he called five of his close co-workers on his way over and purchased 30 tickets.

According to the Arizona lottery, as of Sunday morning, one of two $1 million-winning tickets sold in the state was purchased at a convenience store in Bullhead City near the Nevada-Arizona border.

While there was plenty of enthusiasm among waiting customers, at least one employee at Last Stop was ready for the mania to end.

The store is normally open from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. but since the Powerball prize has grown, the store has been opening at 5 a.m. and closing at 11 p.m.

The store will close Wednesday night at 7:59, right before the next number is drawn.

"Please, someone win tomorrow," said shift lead Monya Kase, 47. "We wanna go home and we wanna go to sleep."

Contact Alexander S. Corey at acorey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0270. Find him on Twitter: @acoreynews