Some would buy a new house with a large backyard and driveway. Others would pay off their debt. A few would get a new car. The vast majority would try to keep their winnings a secret.

This week, the Powerball jackpot rose to $1.8 billion, or an estimated $826.4 million in cash, ahead of Saturday’s drawing, making it the second-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history, according to Powerball.

If no one matches all six numbers on Saturday, the jackpot could become the largest in history. The drawing will be the 42nd since the last Powerball win in May, the longest streak without a top jackpot winner.

Joel Sanchez, 43, buys two lottery tickets a week and has watched the Powerball jackpot balloon through the summer. As he sat in his delivery truck outside George’s Deli in Astoria in Queens on Friday, he imagined how he might wipe away his family’s debt with $1.8 billion.

“I’m talking about mother, brothers, sisters, my kids, my grandkids, my wife,” said Mr. Sanchez. “Everybody gets taken care of.”