Powerball debuts in Pennsylvania

Joann Loviglio

Friday, June 28, 2002 | 10:11 a.m.

PHILADELPHIA -- Pennsylvanians no longer have to drive to adjacent states to indulge their fantasy of becoming a Powerball millionaire, as the state on Thursday became the latest to add the mega-jackpot lottery game to its lineup.

The game might be new to Pennsylvania but it wasn't new to many of the would-be wealthy who were purchasing tickets at the Faber Coe & Gregg news stand in downtown Philadelphia, assistant supervisor Sherron Josey said.

"I've been here since 6 o'clock this morning and since 6 o'clock this morning they've been coming in for Powerball," she said.

Josey said most of her customers weren't Powerball first-timers, including customer Angela Nardone, of Philadelphia, who was buying several tickets for Saturday's $14 million drawing.

"I've bought tickets in Delaware before but I haven't had a winner there," Nardone said. "Maybe now my luck will change."

Meantime, some businesses over the state line in Delaware and West Virginia worry their fortunes will turn for the worse.

"It's going to hurt us. It's going to put a big dent in our business," said Jason Doody, manager of the Fairfax News Stand in Wilmington, Del., where hundreds of eastern Pennsylvanians flocked when Powerball jackpots ran high. "We have a lot of consistent players we're going to lose."

Powerball has a $10 million minimum jackpot for matching five numbers plus the "Powerball" number; the record jackpot hit $295.7 million in 1998. Eight other prizes also are awarded for matching the Powerball number or other combinations of numbers.

Pennsylvania state officials hope Powerball will defray the increasing costs of the senior citizen programs funded by the lottery, including prescription drugs, free transportation and rent rebates. For each $1 Powerball ticket sold, 50 cents will be paid out in prizes and 40 cents will go toward programs for the elderly; the remaining 10 cents pays for store commissions, administrative and other costs, Pennsylvania Lottery spokeswoman Sally A. Danyluk said.

State officials hope the big-bucks game will woo bettors with "jackpot fatigue" -- those who don't buy a ticket until a jackpot rolls well into the tens of millions.

Debbie Norkevicus, an employee at Airport News near the Pittsburgh International Airport, said ticket sales for the new game weren't strong, possibly because of the relatively small prize.

"I think I've sold maybe 15 or 20 (tickets), but I've only had about six people," mainly her regular customers, Norkevicus said.

Jean Basil, of Dormont, made a pit stop for a Powerball ticket while running errands in downtown Pittsburgh. She said it was an impulse buy.

"It's just another reason to spend money," she said.

Powerball, originally called Lotto America, was organized in 1987 to aid small-population states unable to generate big jackpots on their own. With the addition of Pennsylvania, 22 states and the District of Columbia now participate.

Drawings are scheduled for 11 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and take place in Des Moines, Iowa, home of the Multi-State Lottery Association.