Powerball players hope to win at ‘lucky’ Bend stores

Didn’t win the $900 million Powerball jackpot Saturday ? Well don’t worry, neither did anyone else, and you still have a chance to win the biggest jackpot ever this Wednesday. The jackpot is making history, at more than $1.4 billion and counting.

People have been lining up all over town to buy tickets. While all Central Oregon stores offering Powerball have been busy, some of Bend’s so-called “lucky” stores have been packed.

A $6.4 million Megabucks ticket was bought recently from Binky’s on Southeast Third Street, and a $1 million Powerball ticket was sold at Quickway Market on Northeast Butler Market Road last spring.

“With winning the Megabucks that’s been crazy, now that we have the Powerball it’s intensified business and we’ve been slammed every day,” Jack Pedro, co-owner of Binky’s, said Monday.

The now $1.4 billion pot is so big, it doesn’t even fit on many electronic lottery signs and billboards. The jackpot has likely grown this large as a result of the lottery changing the rules last fall.

Players now have 69 numbers to choose from, instead of 59 for the first five numbers, and 26 Powerball numbers to choose from, instead of 35.

The change has cut players’ odds of winning. Last year, the odds of winning were 1 in 175 million, now they are 1 in 292 million.

Despite the decrease in odds, players are still testing their luck with eyes on a prize.

“Some people say they’d buy Bend, Oregon,” Pedro said.

So what does $1.4 billion really get you? Well, it may not be able to buy Bend, but it can buy the Portland Trail Blazers, over 4,500 $300,000 homes, or 20 g650 jets.

With the billion-dollar plus pot, more are deciding to try their luck in Central Oregon. If you want your chance at the payout of a lifetime, then make sure to purchase your Powerball tickets before the drawing at 8 p.m. Wednesday .