Billion dollar lottery sparks dreams of riches
45 views · Published 28 October 2018 · 3:12 · Indexed 25 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(22 Oct 2018) The lure of a record jackpot in Tuesday's Mega Million lottery is enticing even those who typically can't spare the money to get their own tickets. The jackpot had swelled to $1.6 billion early on Monday, and the sister Powerball lottery grew to at least $620 million. Those numbers were exciting for Therese Gray as she pushed her walker up to the counter at the convenience store and declared to everyone there that they were looking at the next billionaire as she bought two lottery tickets. Gray says she seldom buys lottery tickets because she doesn't have disposable income. But the dream of winning a slice of the combined $2 billion jackpots brought a smile to her face. The ticket-printing machine at Ernie's Liquors in San Jose, California, was working non-stop Monday. The store sold a $543 million Mega Millions ticket in July and ticket-buyers hoped that lightning would strike twice. Emilio Apodaca said he just bought five tickets, but was confident that one would be a winner. And Connie Sanmaritano said if she doesn't win, she hopes the winner will be someone who needs the money. The advertised $1.6 billion Mega Millions prize — the world's largest ever lottery jackpot — and $620 million Powerball prize aren't quite real. That is, those are the amount you'd be paid if you chose an annuity, doled out over 29 years. Nearly every winner opts for cash, which is the amount of money the lottery folks actually have in the bank ready to pay out to the company that would fund the annuity. The cash option is still massive, at $904 million for Mega Millions and $354.3 million for Powerball. But those numbers aren't splayed across billboards and shown in countless mini marts across America. The odds of winning don't change as jackpots get larger, but the chance that more than one winner will share the prize do. When so many people rush to play as a jackpot soars , the chances increase that two or three tickets — of the millions of tickets sold — will match. Of the five largest jackpots awarded in the U.S., three went to multiple winners. The largest single prize went to a 2017 player from Massachusetts who celebrated a $758.7 million Powerball payday. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/2467c51ea648a4e9f211bb465bbcbcf7
