LOS ANGELES – Powerball kicked off in California this week, greeted by long lines of wishful millionaires waiting in line to buy tickets for their 1-in-175-million chance to strike it rich, the Los Angels Times reports.

Powerball is the latest effort by the state lottery to move beyond Scratchers to larger payout games. Last year, it got its first taste of the possibilities when its Mega Millions multistate game generated $300 million in sales for the lottery over two months, when the game grew to a $65-million prize.

Powerball is much larger than Mega Millions, with a starting jackpot that is more than three times as large.

"It sounds ridiculous to say, but if the jackpot is $56 million, it just doesn't motivate people the way a $656-million jackpot does," said Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the state lottery. But as the jackpot grows, it attracts larger numbers of people who rarely play, in addition to lottery regulars.

The California Lottery added an $8.4-million marketing campaign to launch Powerball, and it appeared to be working, with sales ringing nearly nonstop earlier in the week at Hawthorne’s Bluebird Liquor, a hot spot for lottery regulars.

The store began selling Powerball tickets at 7 am and by noon, employee Eduardo Duran said about 8,000 had been purchased. "As far as business, you can see it's good," he said, gesturing to a line that snaked out the door. He said the line lasted all day.

Nearby, a long line formed at a 7-Eleven, listed on the California Lottery website as a “lucky retailer.” Huntington Beach resident Lisa Ray was one of many newbie first-time lottery players enticed by Powerball’s large payout.

"$40 million? Come on!" Ray said, adding that it probably wouldn't be the last time trying her luck.

"Why not?" she said. "Somebody's got to win."