Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
ERICA DONAHUE, an employee at the Holiday Station Store in Ironwood, on Tuesday, hands Karine Duncan, of Ironwood, the tickets she purchased for tonight's Powerball drawing. Duncan said that if she were to win she would purchase a new car, and house, and beef up her kids' college savings accounts.
By CHARITY SMITH
Ironwood - With tonight's Powerball jackpot at an estimated $575 million, many are eager to try their hand in an effort to start the new year richer than ever before.
"Powerball tickets are a really hot commodity right now,"said Marnee Bates, general manager of the Holiday Station Store in Wakefield. "It seems like every other customer is buying anywhere from $5, $10 to $20 worth of tickets."
Bates said that although she doesn't usually play herself, she has had to learn how the game works to help customers who strive for the jackpot. She said the best way for customers to have the best chance of winning the most money is to purchase the Double Play option, in addition to the Power Play option. She said this makes the ticket cost $4, but triples the player's chance of winning something.
The Double Play option is new and gives the player a second chance to win each time they play. The Power Play option increases the players non-jackpot winnings by 2 to 10 times, depending on what Power Play number is drawn.
"Powerball is arguably the biggest lottery in the world, putting up extraordinary jackpots which start at $20 million and can stretch into the billions," according to the Michigan Lottery website. However, the site points out that during the pandemic the starting jackpot may be lower.
The lottery is held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Powerball is drawn at 10:59 p.m. EST and the Double Play will be drawn at 11:40 p.m. The odds of winning the jackpot according to the Michigan Lottery are 1 in 292,201,338. There are nine levels of prizes available in the regular Powerball going from $4 to the jackpot prize.
The Powerball lottery game is offered in 45 states, including Michigan and Wisconsin. Winners must claim their prize in the state it was purchased in.
