Lottery news from http://www.zwire.com/site/
It seems like almost everyone is trying to think of a way to make a quick buck. People evaluate the clutter in their garages debating how much they can make by selling boxes of junk on Ebay. Others buy books about how to dream up the next Google-type website.
Words like "If I had a million dollars..." roll off the tongue much easier than words like "budget," "coupons" or "saving for retirement." If only all it took was a dollar and six lucky numbers to turn million-dollar-dreams into realities.
Is that all it takes? Maybe. Maybe not.
Ever since it became legal to buy lottery tickets in North Carolina, "lotto" has become a word of debate. Gambling opponents have referred to the lottery as a sin, an addiction and an illness. But proponents have argued that the lottery can also be seen as a good thing because net-profits help fund public schools.
The Lottery for Dummies: How to play
Upon entering a local gas station, a decision must be made about which game to play: Powerball or scratch-off. The Powerball is a multi-state game that could result in winning millions. Participants pick up a yellow and red playslip and mark five numbers in the top section and one number in the bottom section, or they can tell the retailer to let the computer "quick pick" them. There is room to pick other numbers for those who wish to use the same playslip for multiple drawings. It costs $1 per drawing.
Drawings are every Wednesday and Saturday night and shown on TV. To win the jackpot prize, which is currently about $50 million, all the numbers selected must match the numbers picked on TV. A smaller sum of money ranging from $3 to $10,000 can be won if some, but not all, of the numbers match.
Scratch-off tickets offer instant gratification (or instant disappointment). There are 16 different types of scratch-off games to choose from ranging in cost from $1-$5. Each scratch-off ticket has different directions, which are written right on the ticket. Prizes less than $600 can be collected wherever lottery tickets are sold. Big money winners must be claimed at one of the several North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) headquarters located throughout the state.
Many will enter, few will win
According to a brochure produced by the NCEL, the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 146,107,962. That's roughly the population of Pakistan. There is a 1 in 3,563,609 chance to win $200,000 and a 1 in 69 chance to win $3.
The odds of winning from a scratch-off ticket aren't any better. One scratch-off ticket game called Fast 5's is played by scratching off seven dollar signs. If the number five is hidden under any of the dollar signs, money is awarded. The odds of winning the top prize of $5,555 are literally 1 in a million. One in 1,603,200 to be exact. The odds of winning a measly $15 are 1 in 600.
Compared to other states, these odds are atrocious. The odds of winning $500,000 from a similar scratch-off ticket in South Carolina are 1 in 501,942. Someone is twice as likely to win half a million dollars in South Carolina than they are to win $5,555 here in North Carolina. Even a state as populated as New York has better odds. The odds are 1 in 158,760 to win $5,000 from a New York Mega Money scratch-off ticket.
In March, the Fayetteville Observer reported that only one in seven tickets will award a cash prize, and of these, only half of the cash prizes will be for more than $7. Despite these odds, people will continue to play because inevitably someone has to win, and as the saying goes, no one has ever won the lottery by not buying a ticket.
Doing it for the children
A lottery history website sponsored by the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries says the United States has a history of using lotteries as a form of fund-raising. Benjamin Franklin used lotteries to finance cannons in the Revolutionary War and John Hancock used money from lotteries to rebuild Faneuil Hall. Lotteries have helped finance the building of 200 churches, 300 schools and 30 colleges including Yale, Harvard and Princeton. Now, it will help finance North Carolina public schools.
Although the schools aren't using the money yet, millions have already been put in the education reserves fund.
"The first transfer of money, which was $50 million, went to the education reserves fund which, by statute, is used if during the first year the amount of money budgeted for education hasn't been raised, they can go into that reserve fund," said Pam Walker, the communications director at the NCEL.
Walker said more money is expected to be transferred into the education fund in October. The state lottery must transfer money at least once a year, but Walker said they plan on transferring money four times a year.
"We have projected that we will reach $1.1 billion in sales which would mean a little over $400 million would go to education," Walker said.
When it comes to the North Carolina Education Lottery, the best strategy is to play for fun, not to win. At least the schools are getting millions out of the game, since it seems almost impossible for anyone else to hit the jackpot.
|
|
