Break Time locations across the state saw an increase in store traffic as people flocked to convenience stores to buy tickets for an estimated $700-million Powerball jackpot. The prize, which went to a woman in Massachusetts, was the second largest pot in Powerball’s history.
“We definitely see a bump in in-store traffic when the jackpots get big,” says Anita Bichsel, Break Time marketing manager. “The hope is that the extra traffic translates into more sales on other products in our stores. I know many of our clerks were doing a great job of suggestive selling to take advantage of the increase in customers.”
Powerball drawings occur every Wednesday and Saturday night. The prize total increases by at least $10 million for every drawing without a winner.
What’s it take to win? A lot of luck and $2. Winners must correctly guess the first five numbers ranging between 1 and 69, and a sixth Powerball number between 1 and 26. The chances of picking the correct sequence of numbers is approximately 1 in 292 million.
A winning ticket pays big for lucky players, but the retailer that sells the ticket is also rewarded. In Missouri, there is a $50,000 bonus for selling a winning Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot ticket and a $1,000 selling bonus for Powerball or Mega Millions tickets which correctly match all five white-ball numbers drawn.
Where does all the money from ticket purchases go? It varies from state to state, but in Missouri approximately 23 cents of every dollar spent on lottery tickets goes toward funding public education programs throughout the state. According to the Missouri Lottery website, approximately two-thirds of every dollar (or 66.6 cents) goes back to players as prizes, 5.9 cents goes back to retailers for commissions, incentives and bonuses, and the remaining 4.5 cents is used to cover administrative costs.
Since 1986, the Missouri Lottery has contributed more than $5.1 billion to the state of Missouri and public education. Annual Lottery contributions comprise about 4 percent of the state’s funding for public education – an effort shared by local, state and federal governments.