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Odds of winning $500M Powerball long, but plenty buying tickets locally

November 28, 2012
By JACOB PERRYMAN (jperryman@timesobserver.com) , The Times Observer

According to the World Bank, it's more than the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of eight countries.

It's the current Powerball jackpot, now up to $500 million or more, and it's the second largest lottery jackpot in history.

The odds of winning are one in 175 million.

To put that into perspective, you're 250 times more likely to be struck by lightning, more than five times more likely to be killed in a mountain lion attack and one and a half times more likely to die in a vending machine-related accident.

Despite the long odds, players are coming out in droves to try their luck.

"It's been brisk, that's for sure," Don Trubic, owner of Choice Cigarettes, said Tuesday. "I think a lot of people only buy when it gets high enough, but I think there's a higher dollar amount people spend, too. So it's a combination of the two."

"It's increased, exceptionally," Travis Lantz at United News agreed. "They are buying more than they usually do. We're also seeing more foot traffic than we usually do. There's a lot of people we don't usually see."

In less than ten minutes Tuesday afternoon, Choice had two customers come in for tickets and Lantz said United has been averaging a customer approximately every five minutes. These aren't last-minute buyers; the drawing is Wednesday night.

The Multi-State Lottery Association is predicting a 60 percent chance a winner will be picked.

The record-holder of lottery jackpots was a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot earlier this year.

"It sure would be nice if someone around here won it," Trubic said. "I just wish everybody good luck."

 
 

 

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