By LISA RATHKE, Associated Press Writer
EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. - Denise and James Webster were going fishing when they took a detour to test their luck first elsewhere: buying their first Powerball lottery ticket in Vermont.
"Everybody's got a chance to win," James Webster said. "Now we're gonna try our luck at fishing."
To many Vermonters, the high stakes game is entirely new and the jackpot — $250 million — mind-boggling. Some Vermonters are buying lottery tickets for the first time and they're picking up five or 10 at once.
"I've got a lot of people buying who've never have been buying before," said Mike Finnell, owner of Mike & Terry's Exit 4 Sunoco in Putney.
State lawmakers approved including Vermont in the Powerball lottery last winter. Powerball profits will go to the Vermont Education Fund — and are expected to generate an additional $3.2 million in the first year.
Lottery officials say the game's novelty and the size of the jackpot lured more players than expected the first week. The jackpot has already rolled over 17 times since May 10, making Wednesday's jackpot the game's fourth largest.
"Number one: The game is just starting so it's a new game for players. Number two: The jackpot started out at $165 million, so obviously there's a lot of interest," said Lottery Director Alan Yandow.
Rick Wisler, New Hampshire's lottery director, said many people buy more than one ticket, believing they are dramatically increasing their odds of winning. But, he said, any improvement is minuscule.
At Middlebury College in Vermont, Mathematics Professor Bill Peterson, who teaches probability, put it this way:
Buy one ticket and there are 119,999,999 other choices. Buy two, there are 119,999,998 other choices. Buy 100, you still have 119,999,900 other possible combinations of numbers.
His non-mathematical advice: "Don't quit your job."
The largest Powerball jackpot was captured last year by a 55-year-old West Virginia contractor who won $314.9 million on Christmas Day. The richest lottery prize in U.S. history was $363 million in the Big Game jackpot, won by two players in Illinois and Michigan in 2000.
EAST MONTPELIER, Vt. - Denise and James Webster were going fishing when they took a detour to test their luck first elsewhere: buying their first Powerball lottery ticket in Vermont.
"Everybody's got a chance to win," James Webster said. "Now we're gonna try our luck at fishing."
To many Vermonters, the high stakes game is entirely new and the jackpot — $250 million — mind-boggling. Some Vermonters are buying lottery tickets for the first time and they're picking up five or 10 at once.
"I've got a lot of people buying who've never have been buying before," said Mike Finnell, owner of Mike & Terry's Exit 4 Sunoco in Putney.
State lawmakers approved including Vermont in the Powerball lottery last winter. Powerball profits will go to the Vermont Education Fund — and are expected to generate an additional $3.2 million in the first year.
Lottery officials say the game's novelty and the size of the jackpot lured more players than expected the first week. The jackpot has already rolled over 17 times since May 10, making Wednesday's jackpot the game's fourth largest.
"Number one: The game is just starting so it's a new game for players. Number two: The jackpot started out at $165 million, so obviously there's a lot of interest," said Lottery Director Alan Yandow.
Rick Wisler, New Hampshire's lottery director, said many people buy more than one ticket, believing they are dramatically increasing their odds of winning. But, he said, any improvement is minuscule.
At Middlebury College in Vermont, Mathematics Professor Bill Peterson, who teaches probability, put it this way:
Buy one ticket and there are 119,999,999 other choices. Buy two, there are 119,999,998 other choices. Buy 100, you still have 119,999,900 other possible combinations of numbers.
His non-mathematical advice: "Don't quit your job."
The largest Powerball jackpot was captured last year by a 55-year-old West Virginia contractor who won $314.9 million on Christmas Day. The richest lottery prize in U.S. history was $363 million in the Big Game jackpot, won by two players in Illinois and Michigan in 2000.
