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With the holiday gift-buying season looming and many budgets being stressed, a Powerball jackpot of more than $400 million had many people standing in line for a ticket that they believe might solve a lot of problems, especially those that pertain to their wallets.
Carey Piragus, of Wilkes-Barre, purchased a ticket at the Anthracite Newstand in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
Piragus said, should he win, he would give the bulk of the proceeds to charities, including the Salvation Army.
“Then,” he said. “I would be leaving for Las Vegas.”
Piragus said once when travelling from California, his plane was forced to land in Las Vegas, with airport officials putting grounded flyers up at a hotel.
“I never actually made it to the strip,” he said. “But, I could see it from my window. That’s where I would go if I won.”
Greg Thompson, of Wilkes-Barre, who also bought a ticket at Anthracite said he would take his mother of vacation should he win.
“And I would take my grandchildren on vacation too,” he said. “to Disney world.”
Thompson also said he would give some of his winnings to charity.
“I would hope that I could give some money to help children,” he said.
Carol Shuleski, an employee, said many people had been coming in to buy a ticket and share their plans should they win.
“It’s a bit gloomy out and usually we’re not this busy,” she said. “But today, people have been coming in and out all day.”
Shuleski readily displays a printout that shows how the jackpot grew over the last several weeks.
Standing out at the bottom of the printout is the figure, “403 million.”
“A lot of people that don’t usually play the lottery are buying tickets,” she said. “Its risen to an amount that many people are taking notice to.”
In addition to being available in 44 states, the $2 tickets are also available in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
To win the jackpot, a player would have needed to match six numbers, including the Powerball.
