Powerball promotion overwhelms Toronto bakery
Plans new batch of tickets Wednesday for the big draw
By
Shawn Jeffords, Toronto Sun
First posted: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 08:44 PM EST | Updated: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 10:30 PM EST
TORONTO - A local bakery plans to restock its baked goods and tickets for a record US$1.5-billion Powerball draw after a giveaway cleaned it out of both Tuesday.
Lisa Guluzian, operator of World Class Bakery, at 690 St. Clair Ave. W., kicked off
a promotion at her shop Monday, giving away a free ticket to the draw with every purchase of $20 or more.
By 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, she’d given away more than 200 tickets, exhausting her supply and emptying her pantry.
“I didn’t think it would be so overwhelming,” she said after the rush on Tuesday afternoon.
There was a lineup outside when she and her staff arrived at 7 a.m.
When they opened at 8 a.m., they could hardly keep up, she said.
“It was wall-to-wall people from far and wide,” she said. “Brampton, Burlington, King City.”
And many of the customers weren’t that fussy about what they were buying, so long as they got a ticket, she said.
“Coffee, baked goods, food,” she said. “My cake display is bare. There’s not even a crumb in there. I still have pies, but now I have to replenish for (Wednesday) morning.”
Guluzian said she intends to have 400 to 500 more tickets when she opens her doors Wednesday. The draw takes place just before 11 p.m.
“Everybody was happy,” she said of the atmosphere in the shop Tuesday. “Some people wanted more than one ticket, but we wanted to spread the cheer. Everybody wants that dream.”
And this might not be the last time World Class Bakery has a ticket giveaway. If there isn’t a winner Wednesday night, Guluzian plans to buy more tickets for the next draw.
“I hope someone in Toronto, in the GTA, wins,” she said. “I wish that someone who came to purchase a ticket wins.”
In the meantime, Guluzian says she has some baking to do.
“I’ve got to go and make some more banana bread and butter tarts.”
shawn.jeffords@sunmedia.ca
Powerball promotion overwhelms Toronto bakery | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto S
Quebec man buys $1,100 worth of Powerball tickets for 320 people in his town
Sidhartha Banerjee, THE CANADIAN PRESS
First posted: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 05:38 PM EST | Updated: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 05:54 PM EST
CHAMPLAIN, United States -- If Lady Luck is on Robert Charbonneau's side in the US$1.5 billion Powerball lottery draw Wednesday night, he jokes that his Quebec hometown may have to close down.
The native of St-Donat left his home north of Montreal at 7 a.m. Tuesday and headed to a convenience store in upper New York state to buy US$1,100 worth of tickets on behalf of 320 people in his town.
"It (the jackpot) is a lot of money, it's crazy, we're all dreaming, it doesn't cost much to dream," Charbonneau said after purchasing what he hopes will be his ticket to financial freedom.
As the frenzy surrounding the record-setting lottery continued to grow, a steady stream of Canadians piled into U.S. border towns seeking to buy tickets.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, the Powerball jackpot had risen to an unprecedented US$1.5 billion (more than $2 billion Canadian) -- the largest windfall in U.S. lottery history.
There was no let-up on ticket demand during the two hours The Canadian Press spent just across the U.S. border in Champlain, N.Y., as would-be billionaires put aside the minuscule chance of winning the astronomical jackpot -- one in 292.2 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the game.
"All these people in line, there's your story," joked a U.S. border guard, pointing at the long lineup at the busy Lacolle border crossing.
Many first-time Powerball buyers were among the Canadian contingent. One man from Montreal-area Longueuil bought $200 worth of tickets for himself and work colleagues, but noted his travels would earn him a percentage of any winning combination.
Some of those not fully aware of how the Powerball works consulted with fellow Quebecers in line for advice. One considered going to buy a coffee at the adjoining doughnut shop before her compatriots reminded her the $2 caffeine fix could fetch her another ticket.
Darla Cordes, manager at the Valero gas station and convenience store in Champlain, said the lineups have been crazy since last Friday.
"About 90 per cent of my customers are from Canada," Cordes said in between serving customers as she estimated people are spending between $100 and $500.
Cordes said a Wednesday win would calm things down.
"But if nobody wins, it's going to be a zoo," she added.
At another shop, Montrealers Peter Stocola and Sam Lariccia painstakingly filled out Powerball numbers by hand.
"These are my dad's numbers, these are my grandfather's, I've got to play for my aunts, my uncles, friends," said Stocola, taking care of slip after slip using numbers jotted down on a scrap of paper.
Stocola and Lariccia were playing for a second week after losing out on US$950 million last Saturday.
The twice-weekly jackpot hasn't been won since Nov. 4.
"They are slim, we know," Stocola said of their chances. "It doesn't matter, we could be the one in the 292 million to win. We do the same thing back home -- our lottery is so small, but we play every week."
Charbonneau drove 212 kilometres, the dreams of about 320 friends riding on his shoulders.
There were some hiccups as tickets can only be purchased with debit or cash -- which left Charbonneau scrambling to get money out of the convenience store's ATM. Having already spent $1,073 on the group, he tacked on $27 worth of tickets bringing the full amount to US$1,100.
Even St-Donat's mayor got in on the hoopla, texting Charbonneau during the drive to ensure he was part of the gang.
What will Charbonneau do if he wins?
"Tabernak!" Charbonneau booms with a laugh. "We'll close the village down and we're all coming down here.
After spending the big bucks, Charbonneau set out for the two-hour drive home through a snowstorm, grabbing a can of beer for what he hopes will be massive celebration come Wednesday night.
"We'll do lots of things, we'll make a lot of people happy," he added.
Quebec man buys $1,100 worth of Powerball tickets for 320 people in his town | C
Powerball jackpot, the world's largest, grows to $1.5 billion on strong sales
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 04:03 PM EST | Updated: Tuesday, January 12, 2016 04:11 PM EST
DES MOINES, Iowa -- The world's largest lottery jackpot has grown to $1.5 billion because of continuing strong Powerball ticket sales.
Lottery officials increased their estimate of the huge jackpot for the second day in a row Tuesday because of immense interest in the prize.
The record-breaking Powerball jackpot could grow yet more before Wednesday's drawing if ticket sales continue to exceed expectations. Officials reassess the jackpot estimate daily.
No one matched all six Powerball numbers Saturday night, leading to the current enormous prize.
The huge jackpot has forced many convenience stores to bring in extra clerks to keep lines moving, hoping that people wanting Powerball tickets will decide to also buy a snack or something else in the store.
"When the jackpots get big like this, it creates a frenzy," said Brian Johnson, vice-president of finance at Casey's General Stores, which runs 1,900 stores in 14 states.
QuikTrip spokesman Mike Thornbrugh said the lottery crowd can really wear out clerks if the lines are constant, so the chain of more than 700 stores will have extra staff Wednesday.
He said QuikTrip stores have been busy for nearly two weeks since Powerball's jackpot first climbed into ridiculous levels.
"It's been fun, but somebody needs to win," Thornbrugh said.
The odds of matching all six numbers to win the jackpot are one in 292.2 million.
The $1.5 billion prize would be paid in annual payments over 29 years. Or the winner could opt for a lump-sum payment of $930 million.
Whoever wins will have to pay 39.6 per cent of the prize in federal income taxes, and any state taxes. Lottery officials expect at least 80 per cent of the 292.2 million number combinations will be purchased before Wednesday's drawing. That increases the chances -- but doesn't guarantee -- that someone will win the jackpot.
Powerball jackpot, the world's largest, grows to $1.5 billion on strong sales |
Americans crossing deserts, waiting for hours to get Powerball tickets
Scott McFetridge And Ken Ritter, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Wednesday, January 13, 2016 01:36 AM EST | Updated: Wednesday, January 13, 2016 01:46 AM EST
NIPTON, Calif. -- Lottery ticket buyers have to suspend their belief in math to drop US$2 on an infinitesimal chance to win the Powerball jackpot, but in Nevada, they also have to drive across the desert and wait in lines that can stretch for hours.
In Hawaii and Alaska, they need to cross an ocean or mountains to reach a lottery kiosk.
As if the 1 in 292.2 million odds of winning weren't inconvenient enough, people who live in the six states that don't participate in Powerball must put in considerable extra effort to get a ticket.
With the giant jackpot on his mind, retiree William Burke drove 45 minutes Monday from his home in Henderson, Nevada, to buy tickets in Nipton, California. Then he waited three hours to spend $20 on 10 tickets at a store that is among the nation's busiest lottery retailers.
"I thought maybe I'd be part of history," said Burke, a Vietnam veteran who joined hundreds of people bundled in coats and scarfs before the doors opened at the Primm Valley Lotto Store off Interstate 15.
None of the six states has a lottery of any kind.
Religious beliefs have posed a barrier in Alabama, Mississippi and Utah. Alaska has been more concerned that a lottery wouldn't pay off in such a sparsely populated state. In Hawaii, lawmakers have proposed lottery measures, but the idea always fails. And in Nevada, the lottery snub is largely a nod to the state's casinos, which have no interest in the competition.
The Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs Powerball, reports that some of the biggest ticket sales come from border cities. That means residents of one state are driving to another to play Powerball, then probably spending a bit more on gas, soda or doughnuts.
"What that means for policymakers, that's their business," said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery. "I'm sure they're watching those dollars flow out of their state."
In Alabama, people have been talking about instituting a lottery for years, in part because of sales in border states. Faced with tight state budgets and demands from voters, Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday introduced rival lottery bills for the legislative session that begins in February.
Republican state Sen. Jim McClendon, one of the bill sponsors, said he was considering the idea long before this month's Powerball mania. The jackpot offers "fortuitous" timing, he said, and highlights the huge number of Alabama residents who are buying tickets elsewhere.
The people who are driving to surrounding states for tickets "cannot understand why Alabama doesn't offer what 44 other states in America offer."
Mississippi state Rep. Alyce Clarke, a Democrat from Jackson, has repeatedly sponsored a lottery bill, but she said religious opposition always kills the idea. That could change this year because of Powerball, she explained, enabling the state to raise money to subsidize colleges or fix roads and bridges.
Other states seem less likely to adopt lotteries.
In Utah, people have been crowding gas stations to buy tickets along the border with Wyoming and Idaho, but the state constitution bans all forms of gambling. Given that most legislators belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which opposes gambling, a change in the constitution is unlikely.
Alaska has seen only minimal interest in creating a lottery. The state Revenue Department has studied the option as a way to ease a budget deficit, but neither the governor nor legislators has made a formal proposal.
An agency report found that given Alaska's vast land area and small population, a lottery would probably not generate as much money as in other states. And games such as Powerball could hurt state-regulated charitable gambling, which supports numerous nonprofits.
Alaska's stand was still puzzling to Stacy Castle, a baker at Alaska Coffee Roasting Company in Fairbanks.
"I honestly don't know why we don't have one," said Castle, explaining that she has friends in Oregon who are buying her Powerball tickets this week. "I've lived here for 20 years. It should be a choice for people in the state."
Americans crossing deserts, waiting for hours to get Powerball tickets | World |