Saturday, June 26, 1999
Powerball fever drives Ohioans across the river
$100M jackpot equals visitors
BY MOLLY HARPER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Kentuckians swarmed into lottery outlets Friday for a shot at easy money in today's$100 million Powerball drawing, but Ohio residents weren't shy about crossing the river, either.
Powerball is played in 20 states, including Kentucky and Indiana, but not Ohio. Players must hit all five numbers and the Powerball number to win.
Roger Anderson drove from Fairfield on Friday to buy tickets at the Fourth Street SuperAmerica in Covington. Mr. Anderson said he doesn't usually play, but when he saw that today's Powerball Jackpot was $100 million, he decided the drive across the river was worth it.
“Half an hour on the road for $100 million, that sounds good enough for me,” he said.
Kentucky Lottery Corp. spokeswoman Jill Marszalek said the pool may well exceed $100 million the way ticket sales are going.
James Wright, manager of a Fort Wright SuperAmerica, said Powerball business has doubled compared to last year.
“When it was this high last year, we did maybe $500, $600 a day,” he said. “This year we're doing $900 to $1,200 a day.”
Bridget Burney, who man ages the Fourth Street SuperAmerica station, said ticket sales have increased gas sales, but about 70 percent of ticket buyers come in just to play Powerball.
“We have people who buy $200 at a time, but those are usually groups who have pooled their money,” she said.
Ms. Burney said there hasn't been long ticket lines at her station because her employees have been working hard to get them through the checkout quickly.
“We're pretty much on top of things, but it hasn't been easy,” she said.
The last opportunity to buy Powerball tickets is 9 p.m. EDT today, an hour before the 10 p.m. drawing.
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