Madison, Wisconsin (AP) — The Powerball jackpot has reached an estimated all-time high of $1.6 billion, prompting both longtime players and novices to buy tickets ahead of Saturday night’s draw.
At Madison’s Woodman’s Market, dozens of weekend shoppers, including sisters Christy Bemis and Sherry Spencer, pay for groceries, load their carts, then line up at lottery counters to buy lottery tickets. Did.
They said they rarely buy lottery tickets, but were drawn to the jackpot amounts.
“My $2 has as much chance of winning as anyone else’s $2,” Spencer said.
The counter was one of the busiest areas in the supermarket. It was so busy that the employees erected stilts to guide the line. Like most of the players in line, Jim Olson, 78, used to buy his Quick Picks, randomly generated numbers for his Powerball, but that’s always been the case. is not limited.
Olson said he typically buys one Powerball ticket for each draw “since it started.” When he chooses his number, there is no rhyme or reason to how he does it. I can’t explain. ”
What was Olson’s biggest win to date? About 20 years ago he was $300, he said.
This tells us that the odds of winning the jackpot are very high — about 1 in 292.2 million.
Still, it has a good chance of pocketing $782.4 million (the value of the cash option before taxes), enough to make people flock across state lines for the opportunity to play. Jackpot winners almost always opt for cash, but some financial experts say the annuity option, which pays out over 30 years, may be a safer bet.
If she wins the jackpot, Bemis said she would “buy a house up north.” somewhere on the lake ”
Across town, Djuan Davis was picking up cash and handing out tickets at the Pick ‘n Save lottery office Saturday morning. “We usually have a lot of sales on Saturdays,” he said.
Business bounced back with record-breaking jackpots. Davis also said that more and more players are buying tickets online these days.
When customers arrived at the counter, Davis asked how he could help them. Almost everyone gave the same answer: Powerball tickets.
“Every time, every time,” Davis said.
It was the first time Arpad Jakab had purchased Powerball tickets. When Davis sold his four tickets to his Quick Pick, Jakab, a utility retiree, said he probably wouldn’t buy again unless there was another record-breaking jackpot.
“It was really expensive,” said Jacob.
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