Powerball expansion may be big win for retailers, players, state

Vince Chiaramonte of Vince’s Liquor and Tobacco has been selling lottery tickets at his Loves Park liquor shop since the 1970s. He’s heard his customers brag of picking up Powerball tickets in Wisconsin and has occasionally asked them to grab a couple for him.

“I would say, ‘while you’re up there get me five bucks’ worth,’” he said. “... Sometimes that Powerball would get quite big.”

Now, Chiaramonte is able to sell Powerball tickets from his store while picking up a commission on each ticket sold after a partnership between Mega Millions and Powerball took effect Sunday.

“There was excitement the first day,” he said. “(Customers) are a little confused by the Power Play option because it lets you double your wager. We’re all still learning.”

Chiaramonte gets a nickel on every dollar spent for Powerball and has seen more people buying the tickets, eager to get in on the excitement.

33 states offer both games

Illinois Lottery spokesman Tracy Owens said the incorporation of Powerball into state lottery games is part of a partnership that allows for 10 of the 12 states where Mega Millions previously has been played to now sell Powerball tickets and to branch Mega Millions out to a larger pool of players at the same time.

“We have 33 states that are selling both Mega Millions and Powerball,” Owens said. “As the year goes on, there are other states we’re hopeful will be selling both. It has multiple effects. For our players, it gives them two more opportunities per week to win big jackpots. We’re looking to get faster growing jackpots and more winners.”

The lottery expansion is a win for retailers, too, she said.

“They’ll see a bump as well because as these jackpots go up, folks that live along the edges of our state no longer will go to Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana or Missouri,” Owens said. “They can buy their tickets in Illinois and the retailers get those commissions. When players win in Illinois, retailers get a bonus in Illinois and help to support our local areas.”

Saving on gas

Illinois Powerball players spend a $1 for a single game play, giving them a shot at a minimum $20 million jackpot, which grows with ticket sales. Choosing a power play can multiply a player’s winnings, but it does not apply to the jackpot.

Powerball drawings run Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Wednesday drawing — the first since the expansion to Illinois and other states — carried a $115 million jackpot. Saturday's jackpot is $140 million.

Lottery officials say bringing the game to Illinois and other states alleviates players’ need to spend money on gas driving over state lines to purchase tickets. Resident Larry Swanson agrees.

“It saves me $3 a trip,” Swanson said. “I don’t have to go to Wisconsin anymore. I’ve been buying these up there for years.”

Retail expected to gain

President/CEO of the Georgia Lottery Corp. Margaret DeFrancisco, who served as a co-chairwoman for Mega Millions and Powerball games committee, believes offering these lotteries in new states will garner more players across the country.

“This allows two-thirds of our country... to play these games,” DeFrancisco said. “Essentially what we’ve done is, we’ve created two national games because you have Powerball and Mega Millions being sold in 32 states and the District of Columbia, 33 lotteries are selling both games. Doing this can lead us to the next evolutionary step, which at this point, we don’t know what that might be.”

Dan Gibble, customer service manager at a Logli in Rockford, believes bringing the game to Illinois will have positive results for the supermarket.

“It’s going to take a couple of weeks for people to catch on,” he said. “But we’ll get good reaction from it, I know we will. The lottery is great here.”

Beatrice Ware is letting her dreams of winning a jackpot this weekend take flight. She bought a single ticket for Wednesday's drawing and began to plan where all the winnings would go.

“My girlfriend said if she won she’d buy me a car and a house,” she said. “I said, ‘well if I win, I’ll buy you a car.’”

Betsy López Fritscher can be reached at (815) 544-3452 or bfritsch@rrstar.com.