OK, the $1.6 billion jackpot of the January 13 Powerball drawing was divided up amongst a few winners. But a couple hundred million – even 1 million dollars – can change someone’s life. Every American who bought a ticket for this past week’s record-setting Powerball jackpot walked out of the store with a set of numbers and a dream.
A single ticket had about a 1 in 292.2 million chance of winning. But someone had to win. In fact, three people did – and for better or for worse, their lives will likely never be the same. Armed with their own individual dreams, more than 146 million Americans bought tickets for the historic drawing, unleashing an unprecedented Powerball mania.
Most who monitored Wednesday night’s drawing came out disappointed. But Thursday morning, news of three lucky winners – from largely working-class areas of California, Tennessee and Florida – broke loose. Even the many lottery losers from the Los Angeles suburb of Chino Hills were ecstatic after finding out that a winning ticket was purchased in their town.
In the resulting Chino Hills hysteria, the store clerk at the 7-Eleven who likely sold the winning ticket became an instant celebrity. His life changed in one night, even though he did not win a single dollar in the drawing.
The stakes of the $1.6 billion drawing were not the only high numbers worth noting. Long lines formed outside convenience stores and shops, with people eager to get a share of the winnings. January 13, the day of the drawing, was naturally the busiest. $787,000 worth of tickets were sold in the hours leading up to the drawing.
Oh, and the odds of winning? You are four times more likely to be killed by an asteroid striking Earth this year. Also, the extraordinarily high rate of participation in this Powerball drawing increased the chances of winning – but also greatly reduced the expected value of a single ticket. A single winning ticket had almost a 70% chance of sharing the pot.
Pennsylvanians perhaps had more hope than most on Wednesday night. Since Pennsylvania started playing Powerball in 2002, 17 winners have come from the Keystone State. That number leads the other 44 participating states. A populous state to begin with, the high number of winners from Pennsylvania probably has something to do with large statewide participation in the lottery. So does this mean a single resident has a greater chance of winning a Powerball lottery than, say, someone from South Dakota? Not really. $2 and a dream is all you need!
Will you remember Powerball mania? Share your story from January 13 in the comments section below!
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Sam Bojarski is an Associate at WordWrite Communications. He can be reached at sam.bojarski@wordwritepr.com.
