DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) —Lottery officials from across the country are gearing up for what could be the busiest week in their history after no one won the U.S. record $119 million Powerball jackpot Saturday.
Charles Strutt, director of the West Des Moines-based Multi-State Lottery Association, estimates that 327 million tickets will be sold by Wednesday’s drawing, pushing the jackpot to an estimated $150 million.
“There are lots of people disappointed about not becoming millionaires, including me,” said Leonard Dezaiffe, a clerk at Schulte’s 38th Street Store in Great Falls, Mont. “They’ll try again.”
Officials say $37 million worth of tickets were sold in Minnesota and 19 other states, plus the District of Columbia Saturday, hours before the 10 p.m. Saturday drawing.
Two tickets bought in Minnesota won $100,000 each, 10 won $5,000 each and 409 won $100 each.
Kathryn Moneypenny of Arnoldsburg, W.Va. wants the jackpot to keep growing until her numbers pop up. “It would be nice to at least win a little bit,” she said. “I would even split it with somebody else.”
But not everyone is happy with the ticket buying frenzy the lottery has inspired.
“We don’t gamble. Period,” said Howard Lucky of South Charleston, W.Va. “We think it should be outlawed. It’s stealing from the poor people who can least afford it.”