(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki). Momtaz Parvin pulls Powerball lottery tickets from the printer at her store in Oklahoma City, Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, as the multi-state jackpot reaches $800 million.
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The 44-state frenzy over the largest-ever Powerball jackpot of $1.4 billion-plus that can be won in Wednesday night’s drawing is a fun distraction for individual ticket buyers and the public in general. Since this Powerball jackpot began on November 7, New Yorkers buying Powerball tickets have contributed more than $54.5 million in aid to education.
The inquiries include many myths and misconceptions about the winners, the prize money and the system that decides them.
But after various taxes, including federal, state and local, the victor is estimated to walk away with just $422.2 million. A year ago in 2015, Mecklenburg County gave $55,454,544 for education through Powerball sales.
But on Monday, lottery officials began issuing a word of caution over the airwaves, electronic billboards and social media: be responsible. “Absolutely confirmed”, Lottery executive director Gary Grief said.
A victor would have the option of being paid through annual payments over 29 years or opting for one smaller cash payment. The bigger number gets more attention, and Grief said lotteries have taken that approach for decades.
For the next seven drawings, less than 10 percent of the possible combinations were played as the jackpot increased from $127 million to $255 million.
The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are one in 292.2 million.
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About the time the game was changed, various lottery sites run by gaming marketing and technology companies predicted that the jackpots would get huge, even a billion dollars or more. “We’re very concerned about people playing responsibly and not overspending”, Gary Grief said. Multiple tickets can be purchased, as well. The pool is now sitting at $1.4 billion, and will continue to rise as ticket sales boom.
