For many but not all, $400M jackpot a powerful draw

NOT BUYING INTO THE HYPE: Dennis Morin of Lebanon explains why he refuses to play the game while Kim Lewis rings up his gas purchase on Monday at Trains Quickstop in East Lebanon. (Lebanon Voice photo)

EAST LEBANON - Over at Train's Quickstop people are trying to climb aboard the Millionaire Express, grabbing a few extra Powerball tickets as Wednesday's jackpot is expected to swell to $400,000.

"It's the economy," notes Quickstop cashier Kim Lewis of Shapleigh. "People are trying to get some money to go on a vacation."

The last person to win a record Powerball jackpot was nearly three years ago, when the prize topped out at about $590 million.

Whenever the jackpot goes above $100,000 million ticket sales tend to surge, so expect today's and Wednesday's ticket buying to be brisk.

Lewis said people who usually get one or two are getting 10 or 20.

"It's been building since last week," she added.

For those drunk with excitement, however, a sobering fact. According to the Powerball website, the odds of snagging that top prize are about 1 in 292 million.

Despite all the excitement and dreams of riches galore being conjured by Mainers and Granite Staters alike, one Lebanon man refuses to be caught up in the fever.

"I don't play, haven't ever," quipped Dennis Morin as he bought gas at Trains on Monday. "If you do, you're just giving someone else more money when they win."

A few other facts. Draws for the $2 game are Wednesdays and Saturdays. Powerball starts at $40 million and climbs every time there is no winner. The game is played in 44 states, Washington, D.C., the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The record jackpot was sold in May 2013. Maine began selling Powerball tickets in 2004, New Hampshire in 1995.