The Powerball lottery jackpot climbed to $1.5 billion today, making it the largest-ever US lottery prize as well as the world's biggest potential jackpot for a single winner, according to lottery officials.

The payout has increased due to strong ticket sales on Monday, said Texas Lottery Commission spokeswoman Kelly Cripe.

The Powerball lottery drawing will be held on Wednesday. The game is played in 44 states, Washington, D.C. and two U.S. territories.

Hopeful Powerball lottery ticket buyers in New York City dreamed about what they would do if they won.

"I'm gonna retire, buy my wife and my family houses and maybe buy a little private land, a private island," Jerry David said.

"I go to the Caribbean and I buy a house and I stay in the Carribean," Hector Olivos said.

"I give number one to the homeless, the place have homeless I give them money. And the charities - for the young people, the children. And what's left I give it to my grandkids," Despina Tomanidou said.

The jackpot is worth $930 million if a winner chooses an immediate cash payout instead of annual payments over 29 years, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association.

The grand prize in Wednesday's (January 13) drawing is the world's richest lottery jackpot that could go to a single ticketholder, and the amount is expected to rise further before then, according to lottery officials.

The Powerball jackpot has been growing ever since the last winner was drawn in November.

While the current $1.5 billion prize is by far the largest ever up for grabs in North America, Spain's El Gordo lottery, or "the Fat One," had a prize pool of $2.45 billion in December 2015. A year earlier, it totaled $2.7 billion.

But El Gordo payouts are awarded to thousands of ticketholders while Powerball's riches could go to a single ticketholder.