No Winners For Powerball Jackpot Worth Over $500 Million
UPDATED 01/07/15 12:48 a.m.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A lottery official said early Thursday that there was no jackpot winner in the drawing for a Powerball prize worth more than $500 million.
Kelly Cripe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Lottery, said no one matched the numbers drawn Wednesday night. Thus, the prize for Saturday's drawing will continue to grow.
The $524.1 million jackpot Wednesday was already ranked as the sixth-largest offered in North America and the biggest since a $564.1 million Powerball prize shared by players from North Carolina, Texas and Puerto Rico last February.
The Winning Powerball Numbers Were: 2, 11, 47, 62, 63, Powerball 17
Even though there was no winner, plenty of lottery player had hoped to strike it rich with the winning combination, CBS2's Mary Calvi reported.
"You can't win sitting on the couch, right? You've gotta get out there, get a ticket and get in the game," Gardner Gurney, director of the Division of the Lottery. "It could be you."
At the Lucky Corner newsstand on West 96th Street, Powerball players on Wednesday had hoped the venue lives up to its name, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
Julio Bautista, of the Upper West Side, tried his luck.
"This is a lucky place, I've won before," he said.
He had plans for the jackpot.
"Buy a big house and get a big business, a car business," Bautista said.
Bill Latour, of Harlem, said he rarely plays.
"I just got accepted to vet school, so I'm gonna need help paying off those bills in a couple of years," he said.
"It's a dollar and a dream, and I need the dream," said Alyse Raderman.
But as 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reported, not everyone bought into the hype. Alex, with his tea and muffin at a 7-Eleven in Rutherford, insisted he's not interested in the nearly half-billion-dollar jackpot.
"(Schuck: Even if we gave you the $2? You're just not interested?) No, never actually played the Lottery and I just don't see any point," he said.
Steve Altus told CBS2's Jessica Schneider that he and his 12-year-old daughter play about once a year. They leave little to chance, and some to Eve's lucky numbers.
"For the fun of it and we'll see what happens. The cost of college education these days. Might as well try for the Ivy League if we win this," he said.
You may not want to actually pick your numbers. It turns out that computer generated tickets are responsible for 70 to 80 percent of all jackpots.
However seven time lotto winner Richard Lustig said that's not the way he made his millions.
"That's the worst thing in the world you can do is buy Quick Picks," he said.
Lustig insisted that you have to treat the lotto like a job, playing often and consistently, and playing the same numbers all the time to increase your odds.
"Every time you keep playing and you keep losing you get closer to having a better chance at winning," he said.
Lustig said that's how he won several jackpots.
Powerball is played in 44 states and Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The odds of winning are one in 292.2 million.
The largest Powerball in history, $590.5 million, was awarded in 2013. A then-84-year-old woman from Florida was the sole winner. She bought her Quick Pick ticket after another customer let her go ahead in line, Calvi reported.
No one has won the Powerball's top prize since Nov. 4.
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