WARREN "I'm going to win the Powerball, did you know?" Patty Griffin of Warren said quite confidently.
With the Powerball lottery jackpot up to $500 million, Griffin is joined by many other eager players across the nation who are waiting for the lottery numbers to be drawn tonight.
Griffin said she has been playing Powerball off and on since the game came out in Ohio on April 16, 2010.
Article Photos
Tribune Chronicle photos / R. Michael Semple
Patty Griffin of Warren hopes the Powerball ticket she bought on Tuesday at Valley View Food Mart on Elm Road is going to be the winning ticket. The $425 million jackpot is the largest in Powerball’s history.
In Powerball, players select five numbers from a pool of 59 and one "powerball" number from a pool of 35. There are nine combinations that result in a cash prize ranging from $4 for picking the Powerball number to the grand prize, currently half a billion dollars, for matching all six numbers.
The jackpot has grown after turning over for the last 16 drawings, bringing it to a place where Chuck Strutt, executive director of Multi-State Lottery Association, believes there is a 60 percent chance a winner will be selected today.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 175 million, but this hasn't discouraged locals from buying up tickets.
"I know the odds," said Griffin, "but you know somebody has to win."
Griffin was one of many to purchase her ticket at the Valley View gas station in Warren on Tuesday.
"Almost every customer that comes in buys a ticket," said Kim Vass, clerk at the busy gas station.
Marvin Howa, floor supervisor at Valley View, purchased two tickets himself saying, "Maybe I'll get a chance to win and retire."
Tiffany Cameron of Warren also bought two Powerball tickets. She is hoping to continue a winning streak, saying, "I'm feeling lucky."
Cameron said she was sent a mailer from the Ohio Lottery and won $100 last week from the ticket it bought her. Her first time playing the lottery was last week.
Players have various methods of choosing their lottery numbers.
"I'm afraid to pick my own numbers so I just do the auto-pick," said Griffin.
She also said she pays for the "Powerplay" option, which doubles the payout on all prizes except the jackpot, and has won $26 in the past from it.
If she wins, Griffin said the first thing she would do is hire an attorney to help her deal with the money. Then she would share her winnings with her family and charities, promising to pay for her granddaughter's college.
Linda Taurisano, from Middlefield, said she prefers to use birth dates for her numbers. Taurisano said she doesn't play the lottery often, but if she wins she plans on paying off all her bills and buying a new house.