Record Powerball jackpot inspires office pools

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By BARBARA RODRIGUEZ

In workplaces across the nation, Americans are inviting their colleagues to chip in $2 for a Powerball ticket and a shared daydream.

The office lottery pool is a way to improve your odds and have a little fun with co-workers. And besides, who wants to be the only person at work the next day when everyone quits?

With $600 million on the line, this is the time to play. It's the largest-ever Powerball jackpot and the second-largest world jackpot of all time. And it could get even bigger before Saturday's drawing.

The Multi-State Lottery Association recognizes the popularity of work pools, especially when the stakes are so high. In the last few years, lottery officials have offered tips for organizing pools.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130517/DA6B9E5O0.html

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Marta is in one.



Sheila Sutton updates the Powerball prize money sign at the Super C convenience store in Lincoln, Neb., Friday, May 17, 2013. Powerball officials say the jackpot has climbed to an estimated $600 million, making it the largest prize in the game's history and the world's second largest lottery prize. Sutton sold a million dollar powerball ticket on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

[RoccoR5955]

1. You have a better chance of getting hit by lightning...

or falling off of a cliff, or getting a direct hit from a tornado, or getting hit by a car in Kansas.

[SteveG]

2. All true

but if you don't play, you can't win, if you do, you have a tiny chance, or it might again double.

[RoccoR5955]

3. I dunno about that.

Any time I have played in the past, all I got was a little piece of paper with some numbers, and lost two dollars.

[Daniel537]

5. That's usually the case

But i must say, i once won a very good chunk of money from one of those papers and the resulting events led to me meeting my wife, so that's at least one happy lottery story.

[SteveG]

8. Ya gotta be consistant

I play once a week, and over the years I have won some back, small amounts granted. Since most of the money (at least in DE) goes to things I support, I look at it as a voluntary tax.

[1StrongBlackMan]

10. Not exactly true ...

along with that piece of paper, you purchased a chance to think and/or dream about "what if?"

Was it worth $2, maybe, maybe not.

[tinymontgomery]

9. I worked with a woman

that got hit by lighting twice. If I was her I'd be jumping on this.

[monmouth3]

11. So, how many tickets did you buy?....LOL

[geomon666]

4. This'll be the first time I've played the lottery in years.

I normally don't but damn, I sure could use that money.

[Trajan]

6. I figure it this way ...

There is always some stupid ass who blows a few bucks and wins the Lotto ...

Well ... I'm a stupid ass ... and I have a few bucks ....

EDIT: and ... no offense intended to Mr. 537 ...

[bitchkitty]

7. I buy a ticket

when the jackpot is this big. Why not? I believe in karma, and I think I'm due a billion or two!

[love_katz]

12. People were joining a pool for this at my workplace last Friday.

I didn't have any cash on me, so I couldn't join in. Wish I could've, though.

I would love to see our gang win. We ALL deserve it. We are definitely amongst the working poor.

[A HERETIC I AM]

13. It's an extraordinarily bad idea to join an office pool.

First of all, unless the pool is buying tens of thousands of dollars worth, it doesn't increase YOUR odds by any significant amount.

Secondly, I get the impression that most are rather informal, with no contract of any kind, so they are subject to fraud. What if the person charged with buying the tickets just says the winning one was one he bought on his/her own? They are essentially bearer instruments. Whoever is holding it is the winner, provided he signed the back.

If the pool is large, you go from possibly taking home $200 mil to considerably less for, as I said above, a minute reduction in your odds.



Not worth joining a pool. Buy your own.

[Archae]

14. I bought 3 tickets.

All 3 bombed out.

[Bosonic]

15. Winner is from Zephyrhills, Florida

Being Florida, I expect a concomitant helping of weirdness to go with the winnings.