Community Corner

Is Powerball's $250 Million Jackpot Enough?

How big a prize do you need before you decide to play the lottery?

Is a quarter of a billion dollars enough money for you to go out and buy lottery tickets? Powerball's estimated prize in tonight's drawing is $250 million. The cash prize option is "only" $166.8 million.

But with the odds of getting a ticket with the winning numbers worse than 1 in 175 million, will you play the game? It costs $2 per ticket. The "Powerball multiplier" adds $1 to the ticket price, but could increase the size of any non-grand prize amount.

Friday's MegaMillions jackpot is "only" $41 million.

Find out what's happening in Alpharetta-Miltonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A portion of the ticket sales are used for education funding in Georgia, including the HOPE Scholarship. The Georgia Lottery for Education Act requires that proceeds be used to fund:

  • Tuition grants, scholarships or loans to undergraduate college students and teachers who seek advanced degrees in critical areas of need.
  • Voluntary Prekindergarten Programs
  • Technology grants to train teachers in the use and application of advanced technology and capital outlay projects for educational facilities. This program received appropriations through fiscal year 2003.

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming up, will more people take a chance today for a big payoff? Or are they already waiting in line for Black Friday sales?

Find out what's happening in Alpharetta-Miltonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Are you going to buy a Powerball ticket for tonight's drawing? Tell us in the comments below.


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