Powerball attracts players
Saturday, May 27, 2006 posted 03:52 AM EDT
It was a lazy weekday afternoon, and the lime-green Powerball booth that beckons a chance to win a fortune might as well have been invisible.
“It’s only $20 million,” said Florence Rabon, a convenience store manager in McColl, S.C.
The explanation may seem dumbfounding to people who count the days to their next paycheck. But in the lottery game of Powerball, a $20 million jackpot seems hardly worth the trouble.
Such is the lure of Powerball, which starts in North Carolina on Tuesday. The multistate game has a different appeal than the scratch-off games that offer instant results and slightly better odds, but smaller prizes.
Powerball jackpots can climb into the hundreds of millions, yet the game doesn’t compete with others; it provides another product that brings in players who might not otherwise play. The big jackpots can create a frenzy.
“Traditionally, Powerball complements the other games,” said N.C. lottery Director Tom Shaheen.
Shaheen worked for lotteries in Texas, Florida, Georgia and most recently in New Mexico, which is a Powerball member. Georgia was a Powerball member while Shaheen was there.
“You’ve got people who play Powerball and people who play scratch-off games and people who play both. Then you’ve got people who don’t play anything,” he said.
If he’s seen any trend, Shaheen said, Powerball probably benefits scratch-off games.
“When the jackpot grows, you have more people in the stores, and some of those people buy scratch-off tickets,” he said. “The longer you have it, there’s a greater tendency to increase sales.”
The estimated jackpot is about $29 million for tonight’s drawing. That’s lower than most would like because a South Dakota ticket matched the numbers two weeks ago and the winning ticket was worth $116 million. The winner has yet to claim the prize.
Jackpot related
Rabon, whose store is a short drive across the North Carolina line, has seen how interest in the game changes with the size of the jackpots. Powerball has been in South Carolina since 2002.
“It’s usually the same people, except when the jackpot gets really big,” she said. “Then everybody plays. Even grandmas play.”
Just down the road, in Bennettsville, S.C., Cynthia Lockamy rings up gasoline, cigarettes and scratch-off tickets to customers she knows by name. But she said her regulars are lost in the craziness when Powerball tops $200 million.
“If you had to get gas, you better just forget it,” she said. “I’ve seen people lined up outside. I’ve seen them drive around the block, trying to find a place to park. The people, the traffic, the cars, it’s ridiculous.”
While scratch-off tickets are considered the staple in the lottery game, they never generate the same interest, nor do the state-run numbers-matching games, which are coming to North Carolina in the months ahead.
Historical perspective
Powerball began under the name Lotto America in 1988 in Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, Rhode Island, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Its success has lured other states. North Carolina will be the 29th.
The game offers nine ways to win, but matching the numbers on five white balls and the red Powerball is the grand prize — the jackpot — that hit a record $365 million in February. The jackpot is based on 30 annual payments. A single cash payment is usually about half the annuity.
Powerball states pay a portion of the jackpot wherever it is won. The ability to pool money allows states to offer a large jackpot and generate sales. States keep all the other revenue and pay prizes for the other matching numbers. The second-highest possible prize after the jackpot is $1 million.
Most states that have a lottery offer a multistate game. South Carolina and Tennessee play Powerball; Virginia and Georgia play Mega Millions.
Shaheen said lotteries are intended to generate sales, and a variety of products is needed to draw customers.
“It’s an additional product that adds to the enjoyment of the game,” he said. “The lottery is a mixture of games. Different players have different games that interest them.”
Sandra Canty of Bennettsville said she seldom plays Powerball or scratch-off games.
“I don’t like Powerball. I never win anything,” she said.
Canty prefers South Carolina’s Pick 3, Pick 4 and Cash 5 games. Those games are the state’s own, smaller versions of Powerball. Players pick a string of numbers that match those drawn randomly by a computer. Ticket prices range from 50 cents to $24 for a combination, and winnings reach $1 million. Drawings are daily.
Canty said she plays the numbers-picking games every day but admits she has bought an occasional Powerball ticket.
“Yes, I have. When it’s $20 million, no, but when it’s $100 million, yes,” she said. “As soon as it hits $80 million or $90 million, that’s the only time I’ll play.”
Gerald Newman, a retiree from Pinehurst, said he prefers Powerball. He said he drives to South Carolina to buy a month’s supply of tickets at once. He said he usually doesn’t buy scratch-off tickets, which have been sold in North Carolina since March 30.
What’s Powerball’s appeal?
“It’s just a dream,” he said. “It’s the money. If I could just hit.”
South Carolina’s lottery — or any state with a variety of games — is like a fast-food menu, said the games’ executive director, Ernie Passailaigue.
“People can order a burger, or chicken, or a salad, or they can order two or three,” he said. “Some people just like the burger. It’s a nice product to offer.”
He said lottery sales went up after Powerball came to South Carolina. The revenue benefits public education, as it does in North Carolina.
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