Twenty million dollars to start. Do I have your attention?
Starting today, Washington’s Lottery is selling tickets to play Powerball. The move brings a second multistate game to Washington, which has had Mega Millions since 2002.
While Mega Millions jackpots start at a mere $12 million, Powerball jackpots start at $20 million. With both games, winnings hit dizzying sums as jackpots roll over. How high?
On March 6, 2007, Mega Millions hit a record for the largest U.S. lottery jackpot of $390 million, according to the Associated Press. The biggest Powerball jackpot was $365 million.
Buy a Powerball ticket today, you’ll be crossing your fingers for several days as you wait. Powerball drawings are Wednesdays and Saturdays, following Mega Millions drawings on Tuesdays and Fridays.
As for Powerball odds, don’t hold your breath. After picking six numbers from two groups — five from 1 to 59 and a Powerball from 1 to 39 — you’ve got a one in 195 million chance of winning the jackpot, according to AP.
It sounds impossible, but lightning strikes somebody.
In 1999, it was Don Hopkins. The Everett man won half of a Washington Lotto jackpot of $24 million, a state record at the time. Then 56, he chose to take a lump sum, which after taxes was $4.32 million.
Hopkins, a former Port of Everett commissioner, is still enjoying the only real luxury he allowed himself, a 54-foot Bayliner. The boat’s name is “Yeah!” and it’s decorated with his winning numbers.
Does Hopkins still buy tickets? “Every day,” the 67-year-old retiree said Friday.
When he saw that his ticket was a winner, Hopkins said he had a numb, shaky feeling, almost the same sensation experienced with sudden bad news.
The advice he’d give a winner is to consult with a financial planner, an accountant and a lawyer. Taxes are taken from winnings the first year, but more are owed in the following year, Hopkins said. “The state is good, they walk you through it,” he said.
With some of his winnings, Hopkins established a scholarship program for five local high schools: Everett, Cascade, Mariner, Kamiak and Archbishop Murphy. It took him four years after hitting the jackpot to get around to buying a new car.
It doesn’t take a huge prize to make life easier. In December 2008, Tim and Laurie Gober, of Everett, won $520,000 with a Hit 5 ticket. Of that, $186,000 went to pay taxes.
Tim Gober still buys lottery tickets, but usually not for Mega Millions. “The odds are so atrocious,” he said. Still, he’ll give Powerball a try “when it gets huge.”
They’ve kept their jobs, his for the Port of Seattle and his wife’s at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. “We actually paid the house off,” said Tim Gober, 44. “Now my mortgage payment goes into my retirement.” The couple has property in Montana where they hope to retire.
Jacque Coe, communications director for Washington’s Lottery, said states have been talking for years about cross-selling games. By spring, according to AP, Washington will be among 43 states selling tickets to the two big lotteries.
The recession has put a dent in lottery ticket sales, Coe said.
“Overall sales have been down about 6 percent over the last year and a half,” she said. “Where you see the biggest impact is in Scratch products,” Coe said. “Lottery tickets are things people typically buy with discretionary dollars. They’re not something the average person sets aside money for. When gas prices are up, that’s where we see a dent.”
Washington’s Lottery, its Web site says, generated more than $487 million in revenue during the 2009 fiscal year. About 60 percent of that goes out in prizes; about 20 percent is used for education construction; among other uses are retailer commissions, administration and problem gambling programs.
Coe said Powerball adds to a menu of choices. “Hit 5 has good overall odds for people who feel that ‘$100,000 is just fine with me.’ Some people never purchase a lottery ticket until the jackpot is $100 million,” she said.
It’s a game of chance for players, and also for the state. As jackpots grow, ticket sales soar.
“We have no control over it. We can’t budget for it,” Coe said. “A high jackpot, $300 million, can mean a difference of tens of millions of dollars in additional revenue to the state. It’s all random, all chance.”
When Hopkins hears someone say they don’t buy lottery tickets, he has a quick answer.
“To win,” he said, “that’s the first thing you’ve got to do — buy a ticket.”
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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