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| They know they won’t win the $500 million Powerball, but they’re buying tickets anyway | They know they won’t win the $500 million Powerball, but they’re buying tickets anyway |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| You don’t really think you’re going to win, do you? Because that would be foolish. | You don’t really think you’re going to win, do you? Because that would be foolish. |
| At 292 million to one, the chances of hitting Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot are worse than the odds of listening to Donald Trump speech without hearing an insult. That won’t stop ticket buyers, of course. With a jackpot of $500 million, reasoning goes out the window. So hopeful lottery players have been waiting in line, placing their two-dollar bets and dreaming their dreams. | At 292 million to one, the chances of hitting Wednesday’s Powerball jackpot are worse than the odds of listening to Donald Trump speech without hearing an insult. That won’t stop ticket buyers, of course. With a jackpot of $500 million, reasoning goes out the window. So hopeful lottery players have been waiting in line, placing their two-dollar bets and dreaming their dreams. |
| A dozen people were queued up at D.C. Lottery’s Union Station store this morning when it opened, late, at 9:15. Most said they don’t think they have a shot at winning. They just like to think about what they would do if they did. | A dozen people were queued up at D.C. Lottery’s Union Station store this morning when it opened, late, at 9:15. Most said they don’t think they have a shot at winning. They just like to think about what they would do if they did. |
| Lisa Porcher, 48, who lives in Laurel, Md., would like to take her mother and sister on a few trips. Maybe Europe. Or an island in the Indian Ocean. Ernest Cameron, 63, who lives in Southern Maryland, says he wouldn't mind buying a new state of the art RV and traveling across the country. Judith Pinckney, who lives in the District, was first in line. She would pay her bills and give the rest to her grandchildren. | Lisa Porcher, 48, who lives in Laurel, Md., would like to take her mother and sister on a few trips. Maybe Europe. Or an island in the Indian Ocean. Ernest Cameron, 63, who lives in Southern Maryland, says he wouldn't mind buying a new state of the art RV and traveling across the country. Judith Pinckney, who lives in the District, was first in line. She would pay her bills and give the rest to her grandchildren. |
| “I don’t even really want the money,” Pinckney said. “I’m 71, so I’m already blessed.” | “I don’t even really want the money,” Pinckney said. “I’m 71, so I’m already blessed.” |
| You’ve got to think about other people, not just yourself, Pinckney said. | You’ve got to think about other people, not just yourself, Pinckney said. |
| “If I win, I might even give something to you,” she told a reporter. | “If I win, I might even give something to you,” she told a reporter. |
| Nice. | Nice. |
| Pinckney and Cameron bought just one of the $2 Powerball tickets. Porcher took a more agressive approach. She bought two. | Pinckney and Cameron bought just one of the $2 Powerball tickets. Porcher took a more agressive approach. She bought two. |
| There’s a funny psychological calculus that takes place with lottery jackpots. When they hover at one or two hundred million dollars, interest is slack. Jackpot fatigue, they call it. But half a billion? That’s the sort of real money that gets people in line. | There’s a funny psychological calculus that takes place with lottery jackpots. When they hover at one or two hundred million dollars, interest is slack. Jackpot fatigue, they call it. But half a billion? That’s the sort of real money that gets people in line. |
| Wednesday’s anticipated jackpot would make it the fourth largest Powerball payout and the sixth-largest jackpot in any lottery game in U.S. history. If taken as a lump sum payment it would be $275.4 million before taxes or $182.5 million after taxes. If paid out as an annuity over 30 years, the total after taxes would be $298 million. The largest Powerball jackpot was $590.5 million won by Gloria Mackenzie, an 84-year-old Florida woman in 2013. She took a lump-sum cash payment of $370 million before taxes. | Wednesday’s anticipated jackpot would make it the fourth largest Powerball payout and the sixth-largest jackpot in any lottery game in U.S. history. If taken as a lump sum payment it would be $275.4 million before taxes or $182.5 million after taxes. If paid out as an annuity over 30 years, the total after taxes would be $298 million. The largest Powerball jackpot was $590.5 million won by Gloria Mackenzie, an 84-year-old Florida woman in 2013. She took a lump-sum cash payment of $370 million before taxes. |
| The latest Powerball buzz comes at a critical time for the organization that runs the game. In October, a prominent lottery official was removed from his post as the head of the Multi-State Lottery Association following a jackpot-fixing scandal inside the organization. That move followed the announcement by prosecutors that they were expanding an investigation of fixed games by the association’s former security director. The organization runs a number of other state lotteries in addition to Powerball. | The latest Powerball buzz comes at a critical time for the organization that runs the game. In October, a prominent lottery official was removed from his post as the head of the Multi-State Lottery Association following a jackpot-fixing scandal inside the organization. That move followed the announcement by prosecutors that they were expanding an investigation of fixed games by the association’s former security director. The organization runs a number of other state lotteries in addition to Powerball. |
| But the scandal has done little to deter the dreams of Powerball winner wannabes. | But the scandal has done little to deter the dreams of Powerball winner wannabes. |
| Price Bontemps, 35, a Haitian immigrant who works in health care, buys Powerball and Mega Millions tickets at Cash King on Georgia Avenue in Northwest Washington every week. He plays, he says, for a chance at “a better life for me and my family.” If he wins, he’ll buy his mother a house and bring his wife and daughter over from Haiti. And with the rest of the money? | Price Bontemps, 35, a Haitian immigrant who works in health care, buys Powerball and Mega Millions tickets at Cash King on Georgia Avenue in Northwest Washington every week. He plays, he says, for a chance at “a better life for me and my family.” If he wins, he’ll buy his mother a house and bring his wife and daughter over from Haiti. And with the rest of the money? |
| “I need a car, health insurance. I need to pay my school bills, my sister’s bills,” he said. “The rest I’ll leave for God to tell me what to do.” | “I need a car, health insurance. I need to pay my school bills, my sister’s bills,” he said. “The rest I’ll leave for God to tell me what to do.” |
| Bruk Araya, 27, stopped in at Convenience Express in Silver Spring, Md., and bought a single Powerball ticket. | Bruk Araya, 27, stopped in at Convenience Express in Silver Spring, Md., and bought a single Powerball ticket. |
| “If you’re lucky, you’re going to get it regardless,” said the property manager. Though the odds are long, he has a sensible plan in place. | “If you’re lucky, you’re going to get it regardless,” said the property manager. Though the odds are long, he has a sensible plan in place. |
| “The first thing I’d do is get a lawyer and a money manager,” he said. “You hear about people who win it, and then they’re broke in five years. You don’t want to be that guy.” | “The first thing I’d do is get a lawyer and a money manager,” he said. “You hear about people who win it, and then they’re broke in five years. You don’t want to be that guy.” |
| No, but you want to be the guy who has at least a chance to be that guy. | |
| Sales of Powerball tickets stop at 9:59 p.m. Wednesday. | Sales of Powerball tickets stop at 9:59 p.m. Wednesday. |