PowerBall

[JonJ]

$300 mil or $146 mil cash payout. Everyone get their tix???
Barb and I drove out to Pawtucket RI this afternoon and got ours.
BTW: while we were in RI, the freakin' sun came out. It was burning my retinas and it was GREAT!

 

[swatmedic]

no winner. The next jackpot is going to be 340 million.
Wont the guys at Four Seansons and Northeast Trading, be happy to see me when I walk in after winning that much cake.

 

[dwarven1]

Let's see... If I won that, the shopping spree would start at Wagner BMW (if they still have that R1200CLC on the floor), continue at Four Seasons, then on to Microcenter for a new laptop, then up to NH to buy some lakefront property (can you say "dual residence"? No more worrying about what's on the AG's list!)... then I'd be looking for a nice classic 69 Camaro.

I suppose I need to buy a ticket first, though. [lol]

 

[JonJ]

no winner. The next jackpot is going to be 340 million.

Looks like another trip to RI on my day off.

 

[SiameseRat]

So we don't have Powerball in MA?

I swear on anything you want me to swear on that if I ever win 340 mill I will personally buy each of you a pistol or rifle of your choosing.

 

[C-pher]

Yea, I'm with you SR, I will do the same.

And no, we don't have powerball in MA. So, we have to go over the border to get it.

 

[SiameseRat]

That much money almost makes it seem like a worthwhile endeavor. Can't win unless you play.

 

[C-pher]

Yea, well for me it's not that bad as I'm pretty close already...

 

[Chris]

Just did the math. Your chance of winning the PowerBall is actually LESS than if you bought 10 of the GOAL Foundation Raffle Tickets and won all 20 guns. (winning tickets are returned to the barrel)

You know what they say: Charity begins at home. (^_^)

 

[Lynne]

What the hell...maybe I'll run up to NH and buy a ticket....

10/18/2005 11:22:48 EST Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo
Powerball Winner Won't Be Only Beneficiary
By PAM RAMSEY
Associated Press Writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - If someone wins the estimated $340 million Powerball jackpot on Wednesday, he or she won't be the only one who will benefit from the record prize.

Players matching all but the Powerball number in the same drawing that the jackpot is won will get a larger-than-normal prize, thanks to a bonus that kicks in when the jackpot reaches a record level. Those players could also become millionaires if the jackpot continues to grow, West Virginia Lottery Commission spokeswoman Nancy Bulla said Monday.

Normally, a player matching five numbers but not the Powerball wins $200,000. But if there is record jackpot, Powerball officials cap the next drawing's contribution from ticket sales at $25 million. Any additional money goes into a bonus prize pool for the Match 5 winners.

The Match 5 bonus pool will have an estimated $13 million for Wednesday's drawing, according to the Powerball Web site.

Bulla said about 30 Match 5 winners are anticipated in Wednesday's drawing, based on previous drawings with large jackpots. If someone wins the jackpot, the Match 5 winners would get an extra $450,000 each, she said.

"The fewer winners, the more money they'll get," she said.

If the jackpot is not won Wednesday and continues to grow, the Match 5 winners "could win millions, depending on how long we go," Bulla said.

Should there be no Match 5 winners when the jackpot is hit, the bonus pool would go to players who match four numbers and the Powerball. That prize normally is $10,000.

Powerball is played in 27 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The jackpot has been growing since mid August and 20 drawings have passed without a jackpot being won. It is the biggest jackpot in the game's history and eclipses the previous record of $314.9 million won on Christmas Day 2002 by Jack Whittaker of Scott Depot.

When the jackpot is won, it will mark the first time that the Match 5 bonus is awarded. The bonus was created after Whittaker's record win, Bulla said.

Whittaker purchased his winning ticket at C & L Super Serve, a convenience store in Hurricane. Since then, the store has become a magnet for Powerball players hoping that lightning will strike twice.

Powerball sales were at least four times higher than normal for Saturday's drawing, when the current jackpot was an estimated $305 million, manager Andi Perrine said.

"A lot of people come back and buy (tickets) here because Jack bought his here. ... We have tourists come through from different states who say, 'We just wanted to stop here and buy because he won here,'" she said.

"And we sold another winner, either $100,000 or $200,000, so people keep saying good things happen in threes."

 

[JonJ]

Drove to RI this morning and got my tix for tonite.

 

[Cross-X]

If all it takes is one ticket to win, why bother buying more than one?

Chris, our resident statistician, will confirm that buying even 100 tickets causes no statistically-significant change in your likelihood of winning this mega-lottery.

 

[Admin]

If all it takes is one ticket to win, why bother buying more than one?

Chris, our resident statistician, will confirm that buying even 100 tickets causes no statistically-significant change in your likelihood of winning this mega-lottery.

It does make you feel better though. We have 170 numbers with a few people from work.

 

[JonJ]

It does make you feel good. Even just thinking about all the "what if's". Lots of people say, why bother, the chances are so slim. Someone HAS to win sooner or later.

 

[Cross-X]

It does make you feel good. Even just thinking about all the "what if's". Lots of people say, why bother, the chances are so slim. Someone HAS to win sooner or later.

The sad part about all of this is many folks pin all their hopes and dreams of being the winner, and drop tons of cash they simply cannot afford to spend.

The only ones who win are the lottery agents, the bureaucrats, and the tiny trickle effect to our schools. Sad, just sad.

 

[Cross-X]

If all it takes is one ticket to win, why bother buying more than one?

Chris, our resident statistician, will confirm that buying even 100 tickets causes no statistically-significant change in your likelihood of winning this mega-lottery.

It does make you feel better though. We have 170 numbers with a few people from work.

I hope you are either the one holding the tickets, or you have an iron-clad contract as to the disposition of the winnings.

Too many times in this office-group-lottery-ticket-buy, one of the tickets hits, and the guy holding the ticket claims that it was not a _group_ ticket, but instead the one he bought for himself. Amazingly crass, no?

 

[JonJ]

So true Cross. They're the same ones you see scratching tix in the 7-11 parking lot or dumping coins in the slots on a regular basis.

 

[KMaurer]

I haven't found the scratch tickets to be that bad. Sure, there are thousands of morons out there who regularly buy $20 worth of tickets, scratch them off right there and throw the losers on the ground. It could be worse. There are a couple of convenience stores that I completely avoid since they put in Keno. It's the lottery's equivalent to crack cocaine. These stores no longer seem to have any actual customers. Instead there's an assortment of zombies who hang around the stores all day buying tickets and waiting for the next game. The only thing other than Keno cards that these stores sell any more is the Twinkies, chips and soda on which the zombies survive to buy more cards.

Ken

 

[Admin]

I have copied of all the tickets, and I also am the only gun owner in the group. I'll settle any disputes we may have.

 

[Nickle]

Damn, Darius, that's twice today you've been slow on the uptake. 8)

 

[Lynne]

Well, I got my ticket yesterday. I only bought one. And, I don't expect to win the $340M, but I would be awfully happy to hit the 5 number deal. See? I don't ask for much.

 

[dwarven1]

The sad part about all of this is many folks pin all their hopes and dreams of being the winner, and drop tons of cash they simply cannot afford to spend.

The only ones who win are the lottery agents, the bureaucrats, and the tiny trickle effect to our schools. Sad, just sad.

There's a bumper sticker that says something like: "Lottery: a tax on people who can't do math".

That being said, I'll occasionally buy a ticket; I figure it's a one dollar fantasy for a day or two. But I spend less than 5 dollars a year on the lottery. I figure I can afford that.

 

[MidKnight]

Drove thru RI this weekend and saw the giant billboard for it and stopped. Picked up three numbers, it's how many singles I had.

As for the people that say, why bother... I say why not? That 3 bucks won't break me, but it sure could make me. And it's kinda fun to check the numbers on a big game like this. I don't buy often, only when they're huge, and I get a scratcher about once a week (got $400 of a $2 ticket once).

Good luck all.

Anyone play 4 8 15 16 23 42???

 

[C-pher]

We got out tickets. And we do like I think that Derek did.

We all put in for numbers, then we copy the numbers and EVERYEONE gets a copy of the tickets that are the office numbers.

That way if they buy thier own numbers, and it's not on that handout of hte copied tickets. You know that it's legit.


So, with our numbers...we won 16 bucks out of all of us 75 bucks.


And, I only play when the pots big as well. But I can't think that it can happen. My wife's parents hit Mass Millions for one million quite some time ago. I guess that it wasn't that much after it was all over. I think that he said that it was about half... They bought a house and funiture, and then that was about it. Saved what was left over to pay taxes. He still works two jobs. LT for the Franklin Fire and a electriction.

 

[KMaurer]

Mixed in with all the jackpot winners who shouldn't have been spending their welfare checks on tickets in the first place, there was a ~$200M winner a while back. He's a a successful business owner who said he buys a single ticket whenever the jackpot gets over ~$150M. His plans for the money didn't include any of the usual trailer park fantasies; he intended on giving all of his employees a substantial bonus, and investing most of the rest in expanding in business. Not every winner is a loser.

Ken

 

[SiameseRat]

Anyone play 4 8 15 16 23 42???

I heard on the news that approximately 890 people played those numbers... Those would be the last numbers I'd play since $300 million split 890 times isn't really that fantastic after taxes... But better than nothing I suppose.

 

[C-pher]

Mixed in with all the jackpot winners who shouldn't have been spending their welfare checks on tickets in the first place, there was a ~$200M winner a while back. He's a a successful business owner who said he buys a single ticket whenever the jackpot gets over ~$150M. His plans for the money didn't include any of the usual trailer park fantasies; he intended on giving all of his employees a substantial bonus, and investing most of the rest in expanding in business. Not every winner is a loser.

Ken

And I heard that there were two people in the Boston area that won $800, 000 on it. And I guess that one of them had several kids. And all that they are going to do is put the winnings into a college trust for the kids. They were saying that they didn't have the money to put the kids in college when they got older. Now they do.

 

[Lynne]

It figures that Sen. Gregg won....like he NEEDS it. [lol]

 

[bottle565]

Weird

If all it takes is one ticket to win, why bother buying more than one?

I keep having these strange thoughts any one know why? xx(xx(

 

[Pilgrim]

I don't buy any tickets unless the pot gets over $100 mill. I figure anyone who won't buy one ticket for a chance at $100mill or more, is a little too conservative for their own good !