Powerball sales spike ahead of $222M jackpot

Raleigh, N.C. — State lottery officials said Wednesday that North Carolina is averaging around $4,000 in ticket sales per minute in advance of Wednesday's night $222 million Powerball lottery.

Powerball sales have spiked at Warren Liles' convenience store on Poole Road in Raleigh, where customers bought tickets throughout the day.

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Statewide, ticket sales were at 1.3 million Wednesday afternoon, and officials expected that number to grow throughout the evening. Saturday saw $2 million worth of Powerball ticket sales.

Although the odds of winning the jackpot are one in 195 million – a person's chances of being struck by lightning or becoming president of the United States are better – those dreaming of winning big said it's worth spending the extra money, even in a tough economy.

"I heard the jackpot's pretty high, and I figured, you know, who can win if you're not in," said Pam Rawlings.

Thomas Lavelle said he bought 150 Powerball tickets – a small down payment on the jackpot dream.

"I've been lucky before in the scratch-offs, so, you never know," Lavelle said.

The Powerball drawing airs at 11 p.m. on WRAL-TV.

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Yeah, buying 150 tickets does not give you a statistically significant greater chance of winning than only 1 ticket.

However, 1 ticket gives you infinitely greater chance of winning than zero tickets.

jprime
May 28, 2009 10:14 a.m.

"You can't win if you don't play !!" If the odds are about 200 million to one of winning....you are much much more likely to be dead next week than win! These lotteries are essentially taxation of the mathematically incompetent.

haggis basher
May 28, 2009 9:21 a.m.

So, why is the NC Education lottery not working again? $4000 a minute, HOLY!!!! That's 240K an hour, another HOLY!!! That's 5.76 Million a day!!!! Yet our corrupt government couldn't currently buy a pot to take a leak in. Where are the checks and balances on what this 'education money' is used for?