Jan 5, 2009 10:48 pm US/Eastern
Playing the Powerball and Beating the Odds
MIAMI SHORES (CBS4) ―
The Powerball lottery game has arrived in Florida and people are lining up to buy tickets.
"Is that going to be the winning ticket?"
CBS4's Jorge Estevez asked a woman who just finished standing in line to buy her ticket.
"I hope so," responded Carolyn Shillingford. Shillingford is not alone. So far, she and 1.5 million people have bought tickets for Florida's first Powerball drawing which is Wednesday, January 7th.
People lined up all across stores selling Florida Lottery tickets, dreaming about what they'd do with the $105 million jackpot. "Spend some save some and keep some," said Shillingford.
The reality is that the odds are against you. You actually have a better shot of getting eaten alive by flesh-eating bacteria. "I had a staph infection. It just didn't eat me alive," said Shillingford. So you'd think she would be a prime candidate to win the Powerball.
We did some checking and found you actually have a better shot of dying in a crash on your way to buy a Powerball Lottery ticket, dying from a bee sting, or even dying in an asteroid collision in the year 2029.
But that doesn't stop another player who carried with him his lucky charm, which was in the shape of a horseshoe. "I am going to still going to take the chance," said Walter Schmehl.
In case you haven't gotten the idea yet: you may have a better chance of having two sets of triplets, having your child become a professional athlete, or getting a busy signal when you dial a random number. "I don't care, I just want to win," said Adriana Escobar who bought a ticket and wasn't bothered by the odds.
Florida is the 30th state, along with the District of Columbia and the U.S Virgin Islands, to offer the game. The odds of winning are 1 in 195 million. Winning jackpots have averaged $38 million. In 2006, a winner claimed a record $365 million. Officials expect Florida's participation will make the jackpots even bigger.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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