EDMONDS — Win at WinCo?
Every year, Washington’s Lottery compiles a list of top 10 luckiest retailers, divided by region. Topping the North Puget Sound region was WinCo Foods, 21900 Highway 99, Edmonds.
The region covers Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom, Island and San Juan counties. All the lucky retailers were in Snohomish County, with five at Safeway stores.
Retailers are ranked based on the number of $1,000 prizes or more in 2023. It’s not by total big bucks paid out.
So even if a retailer sells a winning ticket for Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot of nearly $1 billion, it won’t be enough to land it on next year’s lucky list. (But if you win, it will land you on everybody’s best friend list.)
The lottery divides retailers into seven regions. The South Puget Sound region, which includes Renton, Auburn, Federal Way and Puyallup, was named the luckiest region in the entire state for the sixth year in a row with the top 10 retailers totaling 139 wins. North Sound came in second, with 81 wins of $1,000 or more. The Edmonds WinCo had nine such wins, as did a Mill Creek Safeway.
As fun as these lists are, where you buy a lottery ticket has no bearing on whether you will win. The odds are based on the game played.
Odds of hitting the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. The jackpot was $687 million in Wednesday’s drawing, with a cash payout of $323 million.
The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 302.6 million. The cash payout for Friday’s drawing was $461 million and climbing as ticket sales and the jackpot increase. A ticket is $2.
Mega Millions has awarded five jackpots exceeding $1 billion, all in different states. South Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Maine and Florida. The game’s record jackpot is $1.602 billion.
Others retailers on the lucky list for North Puget Sound are:
• Safeway, 16304 Bothell-Everett Highway, Mill Creek
• Evergreen Food Store, 7306 Evergreen Way, Everett
• Safeway, 7601 Evergreen Way, Everett
• Fred Meyer, 2902 164th St. SW, Lynnwood
• Fred Meyer, 2801 Bickford Ave., Snohomish
• Safeway, 11031 19th Ave. SE, Everett
• Safeway, 20500 Olympic Place NE, Arlington
• QFC, 4919 Evergreen Way, Everett
• Safeway, 19651 U.S. 2, Monroe.
March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month, endorsed by Washington’s Lottery to spread awareness about responsible gambling.
Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @reporterbrown.
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