Rush for lottery tickets grows
Okahomans looking for a quick, yet long-shot, chance at becoming a multimillionaire have a couple of games to consider.
Both the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries have reached head-turning levels that have boosted ticket sales and the hopes of those looking at the pile of post-holiday bills.
On Thursday, the Powerball was at $550 million — the sixthlargest jackpot for the game and the eighth-largest in U.S. history — and Mega Millions stood at $418 million — which is its game’s fourth-highest. The last time either game had a winner was in late October.
In the past month, as the possible winnings have accumulated, sales have steadily increased. Four weeks ago, about 10 percent more tickets were sold, then it jumped to 25 percent the following week and 40 percent last week.
“This week, we’ve already done $2 million (in sales), and last week at this time it was at $1 million. So we’re going to have a very strong week with at least another 50 percent or more increase,” said Oklahoma Lottery Commission spokesman Jay Finks. “The big, big piece is if we go one more draw. The sales will get to that rare level of frenzy. They don’t come as often as you like. But when they do, it really drives the dollars into the bottom line, and the beneficiary is education.”
Odds of the winning the Powerball is 1 in 292 million; it is 1 in 302 million for the Mega Millions.
In October, the Mega Millions changed its matrix, which has to do with the number of balls selected in the drawing. It was meant to ramp up the large jackpot faster and compete more closely with the Powerball.
Oklahoma laws were changed last year though Oklahoma House Bill 1837 to allow for more frequent winning and better payouts. Scratch-off tickets were replaced July 1 and have resulted in 60 percent higher sales, Finks said.
Last year at this time, scratch-off sales were down 15 percent. Overall, lottery sales are up 35 percent, Finks said.
The Oklahoma Lottery Commission had been annually giving the state education budget about $50 million, but that had been annually declining, which was a reason for the request to change the scratch-off ticket structure. Now, it is looking like education may be getting close to $60 million, Finks said.
“Right now, sales are great, and every time we have a run like this, it helps education. It’s fantastic,” Finks said.