No Powerball Winner, Ticket Sales Continue

While two ‘5 of 5’ winners were named in Ohio, no one won the grand prize Saturday night and with the Powerball Jackpot bubbling over a billion dollars, local residents are joining the rest of the United States in a ticket buying frenzy in hopes that Wednesday they win big.

With 1.3 billion in winnings up for grabs, no one seems to mind that their chance of winning the lotto this week are just 1 in 292.2 million. That’s less likely than being elected President, becoming a movie star, or being killed by a vending machine.

“You can’t win if you don’t play,” said Powerball ticket holder Kathryn Sears. “You got to take the chance.”

“Maybe I might get lucky,” said ticket holder Becky Wyatt.

“Because you never know,” said ticket holder Jim Shields.”You only need one ticket. You may be that 292 millionth guy, you never know.”

The winner can opt for $1.3 billion in payments over 29 years or $806 million up front but either way, residents say it’s a lot of money with a lot of possibilities to help friends and family.

“I’d make sure they are taken care of,” said Shields. “I wouldn’t give them a bunch of money or anything like that. I’d pay all their bills off and maybe a payments and then they’d be on their own and then you wouldn’t ever see me again.”

“Party,” Sears said laughing to herself. “No, take care of kids and grand kids and go from there.”

“I would help people that needs help,” said Wyatt.

Of course the lottery is all about chance but some say choosing the winning numbers is all about having a method.

“I’m going to use my grand children’s birthday because they’re lucky to me,” said Wyatt.

“I buy it and hope I win,” said Shields. “That’s my strategy.”

There’s still time to grab a ticket and take your shot. The next Powerball drawing is Wednesday evening.