In the US, sweet dreams cost just a dollar

Presidential campaign politics took a back seat this past week in the United States as the nation was gripped by get-rich-quick fever.

The jackpot of a lottery shared by 44 states, Washington, DC, and two US territories had reached $500 million by Wednesday night's drawing. When it went unclaimed, as the jackpots had twice a week since early November, sales of $1 Powerball tickets went into overdrive.

In California, where Powerball tickets generally sell at a rate of $1 million a day, sales on Saturday generated $2.8 million an hour, according to Reuters.