New game in town Mainers line up for chance at Powerballs’ big jackpot

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It started in Bangor at exactly 12:00:00 p.m. By 4:56 p.m., Mainers had purchased $175,472 worth of Powerball tickets as the megamillion-dollar lottery game made its Friday debut in the state.

At the state Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery operations in Augusta, officials were clearly convinced lottery mania had taken hold. They did not dare speculate how many tickets would be sold before tonight’s drawing, which features an estimated grand prize of $54 million – or about $1 million a year after taxes for the next 30 years.

“The anecdotal stories are that people were in line at noon to buy these in Lewiston,” said Rebecca Wyke, commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. “It’s a faithful crowd that the lottery has.”

The Hannaford store on Broadway in Bangor was the first of more than 980 agents to record a Powerball ticket sale precisely at noon. Maine is the 28th state to join the Multi-State Lottery Association that also includes the District of Columbia and U.S. Virgin Islands.

The state conceivably could surpass $300,000 on its first day of participating in the game, which would reflect only 12 hours of sales. In contrast, Powerball recorded $121,524 in sales when it debuted in Vermont on July 1, 2003, and only about $71,000 in sales when the game was introduced to New Hampshire on Nov. 5, 1995.

Winning numbers for the game are drawn in Idaho at 10:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday. The state will halt ticket sales before each evening’s drawing at 9:50 p.m. According to the Powerball Web site, there are nine different ways to win in the game, in which odds range from 1 in 120,526,770 for the grand prize down to 1 in 70 for simply matching the Powerball alone. The Multi-State Lottery Association maintains that overall odds of winning a prize in the game are better than 1 in 36 for each $1 ticket purchase.

On drawing nights, five white balls are selected at random from a drum containing 53 balls, and one red ball is removed from a drum containing 42 red balls. Players win by matching their numbers with those printed on the balls. The jackpot, won by matching all five white balls in any order along with the red Powerball, is paid through 30 annual payments or in a lump sum equal to about half the jackpot before taxes.

Winners have up to 60 days after the prize is claimed to choose between the lump sum or annual payments. The second-tier prize, won by matching five white balls in any order, is a $100,000 cash payment. Prizes decline in subsequent tiers from $5,000 to $3.

The Powerball game also features a “Power Play” option that allows a winner to multiply the original prize amount for an extra $1 per ticket. Powerball players can multiply their Powerball prizes by two, three, four or five times when purchasing their tickets depending on which “Power Play” number is drawn. The “Power Play” option does not extend to the grand prize.

Fantastic odds were not a deterrent for thousands of Mainers who happily plunked down a dollar or more for the chance of winning millions Friday. Customers flowed into Union Street’s Corner Mini-Mart in Bangor in a steady stream.

“The amount of money entices people to come in,” said store cashier David Chambers, who guessed he had sold at least 100 Powerball tickets after only an hour.

Other small convenience stores also experienced strong sales. After 15 minutes of selling Powerball tickets, Leadbetter’s Mini-Mart on Hammond Street in Bangor had sold nearly 30 tickets.

Stopping at the Corner Mini-Mart, Jennifer Khavari said she was caught up in “the fever of it all.” Admitting that her husband was a financial planner, she said she would invest 90 percent of the money if she won.

“Then I would take 10 percent and go on a whopping vacation,” said Khavari, adding she also would give the Bangor Public Library enough money to install air conditioning.

The tickets were flying from the machine at a nice clip at Belfast Variety Store on High Street.

“We took in about $40 in 45 minutes,” said clerk Tracy Herrick. “That’s about a dollar a minute and not too bad.”

Herrick noted that a steady stream of customers asked about playing the game that morning, unaware that the machines did not open until noon. At Jack’s Grocery in Belfast, the mood was the same. Clerk Don Richardson said the store “probably” sold $35 to $40 worth of Powerball tickets in the first hour. Customer Byron Greenlaw was one who chose to take a gamble, a small one.

“I think I might buy one,” Greenlaw said. “One dollar is all I spend.”

At Perry’s in Stockton Springs, the machines came on just as the lunch crowd was packing the aisles. Clerk Ashley Bonin said that nearly everyone who bought lunch picked up a ticket or two.

At the northern end of the state at the Naborhood Store in St. Agatha, Powerball tickets were selling briskly, according to clerk Jeannette Michaud.

“People are coming in asking for them,” she said. “Within minutes we sold over $200.

“People are buying them five at a time and doubling the ticket. They are really going.”

Ricky Daigle, owner of Paul’s Gas and Car Wash in Frenchville, said the store sold tickets to a dozen or so customers during the first hour Friday. Many people didn’t know about the new game but bought tickets once they were told about it.

The situation was much the same Down East. Kathy Greene, owner of Delia’s Branch Grocery on Route 1 in Columbia, said she had spoken with “hard-core players who think they’re going to win real big.” She said she sold $39 worth of tickets in the first two hours, but the store did not get online until 12:30 p.m.

“We had a lot of people who left money and bets behind,” Greene said.

Although sales reportedly started slowly in Pittsfield, neighboring Detroit was percolating with Powerball fever, outselling the Tri-State Megabucks game by more than 10-to-1.

In the first two hours of sales, The Maine Store on Route 69 sold $57 in Powerball tickets compared to $5 of Megabucks.

“A lot of people are doubling their play,” clerk Tammy Giles said. “There’s a lot of dreaming going on out there.”

Gov. John Baldacci and the Legislature approved the state’s application for inclusion in the Powerball lottery as a way to generate nearly $9 million a year in new revenue to balance the state budget. State officials were convinced Maine needed Powerball to remain competitive with New Hampshire where the game was attracting Maine players who normally played the Megabucks game. Both games continue to be offered in both states, although Maine lottery officials anticipate a 17 percent decline in Megabucks sales over the next year.

Bangor Daily News staff writers Beurmond Banville, Walter Griffin, Katherine Cassidy, Sharon Mack and Julia Hall contributed to this report.