A group of 13 Missouri state employees, who work for the Department of Social Services Family Support Division/Child Support Enforcement in Florissant, claimed the $224.2 million Powerball jackpot from the April 12 drawing.
The jackpot is the largest prize ever won in the Missouri Lottery's 20-year history and the seventh largest Powerball jackpot ever awarded in the nation.
The winners are: Cornelia Aversa, 61, of Ballwin; Juanita Miller, 57, of Black Jack; Madeleine Knox, 68, James Wydrzynski, 53, and Sandra Hayes, 46, all of Florissant; Kathey Tidwell, 54, of Highland, Ill.; Kathy Bowman, 48, of Roxana, Ill.; Marjorie Orcutt, 56,; Donna Paige, 44, Georgia Griffin, 57, Alice Williams, 58, and Robin Carlton, 36, all of St. Louis; and Michael Lang, 55, of St. Peters.
According to Jim Wydrzynski, the office manager, 11 of the members put $5 into the pool and two members — Alice Williams and Georgia Griffin — contributed $2.50. The jackpot prize will be split 12 ways, and William and Griffin will share 1/12 of the prize.
All of the members plan to take the cash amount, which works out to be approximately $8.5 million each before taxes for the 11 members who contributed $5 and approximately $4.2 million before taxes for the two members who contributed $2.50.
Well that's a good way to start off the weekend! lol
Congrats to the winners! And good luck to everyone on the MM tonight! And PB tomorrow night!! And if one of our dear friends here on lottery post hits it, Don't forget to remember SASSARI!!!! lol
Kiss Kiss!
Congrats Winners!! I can only imagine the feelings that your all feeling right now and hope that someday I will know that "shock" I just hope that the local town has a back up plan for your positions! ITs not just packaging meat ya know. There are children and familys that are depending on them for their next meal! So I guess if anyone is looking for a state job with state benefits they know where to go LOL. But tonight there is another oppertunity for yet another Lotto Pool Group to endure the wonderful shock, pleasure and wealth that these lucky 13 winners have and may the ladies of my pool be the next up to the plate to win!! They never mentioned how long they had been playing their pool if any one hears please let me know I would like to know! And you know that is the second pool group with the count of 13 players that has won a big jackpot Maybe there is LUCK in the number 13 after all!!!! Well anyhow GO LUCKY G's 6 This week We got another player!!!!!!! The more the players the more the chances I dont mind just a PEICE of the Pie!!!!!!
A Quick pick yet again......
Dam those "systems": full speed ahead with the computer picks !
BTW, anyone want to bet how long it will take before someone steps up and says that they were in the pool but were absent the day of the ticket purchase ?
Yep that will happen!!!!!
With all the group wins I'm wondering how many just by tickets for themselves anymore.
Another group win. I'm with Diva on this one. Given the way the game is structured and all the groups buying tickets I have to wonder if an individual player can win.
Jim
With all the group wins I'm wondering how many just by tickets for themselves anymore.
I post these news stories, so I have a good feel for what kind of winners are out there. Most of the winners, by far, are solo players/winners. (A "couple" claiming a prize is still a solo winner.) You see an increase in pool winners for these big jackpots because the number of pools greatly increases when the jackpots get big. But they are still the minority of winners.
Congrats to them. MO is a great state. Tonight's my Night i Feel it in ma' timbers.
A Quick pick yet again......
Dam those "systems": full speed ahead with the computer picks !
BTW, anyone want to bet how long it will take before someone steps up and says that they were in the pool but were absent the day of the ticket purchase ?
That is why I do the Lotto Agreement and With each of my pool's I give new ones each day of the drawing and they are dated and stated onlu good for that days drawing and I list each player in the pool and they get copies of the numbers and I state in the pool agreement that PAST PARTICIPATION DOES NOT ALLOW TO ANY WINNINGS. IF YOU DID NOT ENTER THE DRAWING OF THE WINNING LOTTO YOU ARENT ENTITLED. And I tell them in every agreement the days that the drawings are on and the amount that we play and the deadline to have the money to me to be able to participate in the pool, NO WAY NO HOW is there anyone that didnt play there money in the pool of the day can come back on us. I seen to many horror stories about it so I made it VERY CLEAR!
A Quick pick yet again......
Dam those "systems": full speed ahead with the computer picks !
BTW, anyone want to bet how long it will take before someone steps up and says that they were in the pool but were absent the day of the ticket purchase ?
That is why I do the Lotto Agreement and With each of my pool's I give new ones each day of the drawing and they are dated and stated onlu good for that days drawing and I list each player in the pool and they get copies of the numbers and I state in the pool agreement that PAST PARTICIPATION DOES NOT ALLOW TO ANY WINNINGS. IF YOU DID NOT ENTER THE DRAWING OF THE WINNING LOTTO YOU ARENT ENTITLED. And I tell them in every agreement the days that the drawings are on and the amount that we play and the deadline to have the money to me to be able to participate in the pool, NO WAY NO HOW is there anyone that didnt play there money in the pool of the day can come back on us. I seen to many horror stories about it so I made it VERY CLEAR!
Very savvy..sounds like you got it together, Sassy.
Most pools are done at the spur of the moment when the jackpots are large, so having your ducks in a row is not the top priority.
I hope they don't encounter any difficulties, and judging by most of their ages, this is certainly a blessing for them at a good time in their lives.
Congrats to them !
DD
hopefully another lawsuit doesn't arise because someone got left out...
Congratulations to the group. Another smart group of people who know how to overcome the overwhelming odds and still end up with a life-changing amount of money.
Sincere Congratulations ...to the employees who won
Pools are nice and we've witnessed several pools pay off, but overall, I'd rather buy my tickets alone. Eleven contributing a total of $55 plus two adding another $5; the other recent pool win played $40 at the record jackpot level.
So at that unique moment when the jackpot reaches a specific level, such as a record level, any one of us can adequately 'compete' individually with the typical pool.
As mentioned previously, and looking back over the MUSL archives, pools certainly aren't the most common way jackpots have been hit. Many jackpots have been won playing five number sets or less.
Lottery pools are a way for players who want more chances to win than they are willing to pay for or can afford and they work fine until a large sum of money is won and those players who want to share the winnings but weren't willing or couldn't afford to pay before the drawing come forward. They are the players who only want to be in the pool when it wins.
well, there was a prayer answered for the children. who am I to question GOD'S way of working? I just hope some of these workers have seen enough to help some of the kids thrown out by their parents and left to fend for themselves.
I just look at it this way..... I am not a greedy person and as I said before my agreement is AIR TIGHT and CLEAR of the rules and each players oppertunities and what they must to to be a part of the CASH. Before I started my pool I was spending 40.00 a draw and with the pool we get 30 numbers compared to 40.00 and only 5.00 out of my pocket still getting the extra 10 numbers I am stil saving over 50% of what I was spending and As back to I am not greedy in any way. The people that I play with our my ONLY friends that I associate with and want them to be in on the winnings with me and lets say we were to hit the numbers tonight that would be apprx 13 mill a peice HEY I am HAPPY AS HELL with that
saving money getting plenty and seeing my friends just as well off
I just look at it this way..... I am not a greedy person and as I said before my agreement is AIR TIGHT and CLEAR of the rules and each players oppertunities and what they must to to be a part of the CASH. Before I started my pool I was spending 40.00 a draw and with the pool we get 30 numbers compared to 40.00 and only 5.00 out of my pocket still getting the extra 10 numbers I am stil saving over 50% of what I was spending and As back to I am not greedy in any way. The people that I play with our my ONLY friends that I associate with and want them to be in on the winnings with me and lets say we were to hit the numbers tonight that would be apprx 13 mill a peice HEY I am HAPPY AS HELL with that
saving money getting plenty and seeing my friends just as well off
Nobody in my group is either, thank goodness. We all agreed ahead of time that we'd split everything evenly. We have won a couple of small prizes, which we simply put towards the next payment in the pool. I think my pool is a bargain. For $4/payday(every other Friday), we each get 3 chances at both Powerball and Lotto for 4 drawings, with winnings to be split 6 ways. If another person joins, we'll simply add another ticket to the mix.
PrisonerSix
@Todd:
I read what you post about winners and I appreciate your efforts very much. But with regard to Powerball jackpot winners I'm wondering if there is a new trend developing. If I read the infomation on the Powerball site correctly...since the matrix change 3 of the last 5 winners have been pools. (I think the West/Cheney family can be considered a pool because they were 2 families playing together. According to press reports they spent $40 which from my experience is an amount that is usually beyond what many [most?] individuals can afford to play on a regular or even semi-regular basis.)
Last year Powerball had 14 winners only one of which was a pool. This year there have been 2 winners and both of them have been pools. Granted there's not a lot of history there but I do have to wonder.
Jim
Last year lots of the jackpots that were hit were very small. You remember that phenomena? People were scratching their heads wondering if Powerball had finally hit the wall, because it seemed to get hit so often.
As I described above, when the jackpots get really big, the number of pool players grows exponentionally. And the jackpots have been getting huge as of late. In fact, I ran a news story stating how this was the first back-to-back $200+ million jackpot.
People play Powerball the same as they always have, and my advice has not changed: if you can avoid playing in a pool, do so. Pools do not greatly increase your chances of winning, and all it means is you're ending up giving away most of the prize if you win.
A Quick pick yet again......
Dam those "systems": full speed ahead with the computer picks !
BTW, anyone want to bet how long it will take before someone steps up and says that they were in the pool but were absent the day of the ticket purchase ?
That is why I do the Lotto Agreement and With each of my pool's I give new ones each day of the drawing and they are dated and stated onlu good for that days drawing and I list each player in the pool and they get copies of the numbers and I state in the pool agreement that PAST PARTICIPATION DOES NOT ALLOW TO ANY WINNINGS. IF YOU DID NOT ENTER THE DRAWING OF THE WINNING LOTTO YOU ARENT ENTITLED. And I tell them in every agreement the days that the drawings are on and the amount that we play and the deadline to have the money to me to be able to participate in the pool, NO WAY NO HOW is there anyone that didnt play there money in the pool of the day can come back on us. I seen to many horror stories about it so I made it VERY CLEAR!
It is good piece of foresight on your behalf to draw up a Lotto Agreement, however my concern is how legally binding your agreement is. Unless you had a lawyer draft the "document" for you ensuring all the legal "I's were dotted" and those who signed this document had legal counsel before signing the "document", a disgruntled past-particpant with a savvy lawyer could very possibly render your Lotto Agreement non-binding.
Large sums of money make otherwise rational people do unrational things.
Nobody wants to win over $100 million and take annuity. The record for the largest US jackpot paid as an annuity was just over $110 million, set in 1993, more than four years before the Powerball cash option began.
Todd,
I really have to take exception with you characterizing what happened last year with Powerball as a phenomena. I looked at the Powerball website and the reality is this:
In the calandar year of 2005 the jackpot was hit 14 times. (NOTE: That is calandar year and not Powerball fiscal year.)
In the calandar year of 2004 the jackpot was hit 11 times.
In the calandar year of 2003 the jackpot was hit 12 times.
(And please note that due to split jackpots the actual number of winners was almost the same...14 in 2005...13 in 2004 and 16 in 2003.)
OK...whoopee sh*t! It seems they had a couple (A COUPLE) more winners. That is hardly a phenomena.
Now it does seem to be true that the average jackpot amount was significantly lower. If I did the calculations correctly:
In the calandar year of 2005 the average jackpot was approximately $41 million.
In the calandar year of 2004 the average jackpot was approximately $59 million.
In the calandar year of 2003 the average jackpot was approximately $51 million.
I have a real hard time believing that the jackpots were so much less because of the phenomena of more winners when the actual numbers don't seem to bear that out.
(I'm well aware that I'm comparing calandar year to fiscal year so that might change the calculations a bit.) But the bottom line is there was no phenomena. Just a lot of hype (along with whining and bovine scatology) from Powerball execs) that gave Powerball the opportunity to change the matrix...extend and backload the annuity...and eliminate a 5X's Powerplay multiplier.
They did this because they wanted to increase sales. The only way they could come up with to do this was by increasing the odds and advertising bigger (read: bogusly inflated) jackpots. Increased odds means more rollovers...which means more sales...which means more money for the states...which means bigger bonuses for Powerball execs and state lottery directors and all of it at the expense of having fewer winners among the players.
Jim
Gee, I'd certainly call it a "phenomina" when it has the entire industry talking about whether Powerball has jumped the shark. You might not think it's a big deal, because it's not your job to make sure the lottery brings in more profits this year. You can say "whoopee sh*t" all you want, but that doesn't make you an expert on these things.
Todd,
I grant and I freely concede that I'm not an expert in these things. If the entire industry thinks that a grand total of 3 more jackpots being hit in one year (and 2 more jackpots than the year before that) spelled the end for Powerball and justified the changes then all I can do is quote Lyndon Johnson who said:
I may not know much but I know the difference between chicken salad and chicken sh*t.
Jim
Well, if you re-read what I actually said, and not put words in my mouth, you'd see that I never said it "spelled the end of Powerball".
Is it a debating technique of yours to try and make my statements seem stupid by inserting your own meaning into my argument?
I'm trying to give you some insight into the ways things work, and you seem intent on keeping those blinders on.
WHATEVER!
OK...it's not a debating tactic of mine and I certainly don't think your remarks are stupid. I had a little trouble with your use of the phrase "...whether Powerball has jumped the shark." I don't know what the phrase "jumped the shark" means. Would you please explain it to me so that we can clear up any misunderstanding I may have.
So let's start over. Simply put my position is:
There were only 3 more jackpots won in 2005 than in 2004. There were only 2 more jackpots won in 2005 than in 2003. There are 104 drawings conducted in a calandar year. Three more winners means an increase of 2.89% in the number of jackpots won. Two more winners means an increase of 1.92% in the amount of jackpots won. A less than 3% increase and a less than 2% increase in the number of jackpots won does not...IMHO...mean a significant increase in the number of jackpot winners and does not...again IMHO...constitute a phenomena. What it constitutes...again IMHO is an excuse for Powerball to increase the odds and make it more difficult for any player to win.
Now I conceded that the average amount of the jackpots won in 2005 was significantly lower than it was in 2004 or 2003. And I will further conceed that Powerball sells more tickets and therefore the states makes more money when the jackpots are larger. But (and as you so correctly pointed out I'm not an expert in financial matters and I don't have to answer to the states) I find it almost impossible to believe that 3 more jackpot winners in one year and 2 more than the year before that was the sole reason for the lower jackpots and the lower sales figures. It probably was A factor but...again IMHO...it was NOT the ONLY factor.
You say you want to give me some insight into how things work. Good! I need all the insight I can get. I'm a regular Powerbal player. I buy tickets for every draw regardless of the size. And I always play Powerplay. I understand that lotteries exist to make money for the states and I have no problem with that. I am an advocate and a proponent of lotteries. But as a player I would like someone to explain to me how increasing the odds...extending and backloading the annuity...reducing the cash value...and reducing the chances of getting a 5X's multiplier is good for me.
Furthermore I have a real problem with Powerball execs and lottery directors getting bonuses for increasing sales when they do this AT THE EXPENSE OF THE PLAYERS.
I realize that my chances of ever winning a Powerball jackpot are beyond remote. I accept that and I'm still willing to play. But I am a loyal Powerball player and I feel like I've been completely screwed by the powers that be. They made it harder for me and for everyone else to win not only the jackpot but to win anything of any significance. They made changes to the game that ARE NOT in any players best interest. And they continously feed us a line of bull about how the number of winners last year hurt them and how these changes are well received by the public. As KY Floyd pointed out in another thread they are absolutely shameless in their propaganda and if this was any other business they absolutely would not be allowed to operate this way.
Putting aside my anger and deferring to your greater insight...(which is not a sarcastic remark...you clearly have more knowledge in these matters than I do)...please explain to me why the changes made are a positive for any player.
Jim
The powerball results for 2005 are a phenomenon in the same sense that the sun coming up in the morning is a phenomenon. The only thing special about a bunch of lottery officials getting their panties in a twist is that it gives us some insight into how they think (or don't think). As near as I can tell what we learned was that they don't understand the probability that their game is based on, and/or that their interest in what gets paid out is strictly a function of their interest in what comes in.
The payouts in 2005 were about $557 million (including the funding of two prizes taken as annuities). The year started with about $10 million in the jackpot prize pool and finished with about $20 million. With 30 cents of each ticket going to the jackpot prize pool there should have been about 1.89 billion tickets sold, of which 14 matched 5+1. For the first 8 months of the year the odds of matching 5+1 were 1 in 120.5 million, and for the last 4 months they increased to 1 in 146.1 million. Just to simplify things, I'll call it a average of 1 in 129 million for the year. If we expect 1 out of every 129 million tickets to match 5+1 (and we should), selling 1.89 billion tickets would be expected to result in 14.65 winning tickets. Since we can't have part of a winner the result suggested by probability is 14 or 15 winners, which means we saw the results we should have been expecting.
If you flip a coin 100 times you're going to get a bnch of heads one after the other now and then, but you'll also get a bunch of tails one after the other sometimes, and only the idiots are surprised. The lottery isn't any different. If lotter officials want the big jackpots that generate big sales they have no choice but to accept the small jackpots that balance them.The year started out with a a string of smaller jackpots, and in October we saw the 2nd biggest payout PB had produced up until that time. To anyone who understands probability there's nothing noteworthy about it.
Jim, look here for the meaning of "jump the shark" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark
The way that the new rules are good for the players is that if you happen to be the 1 in 146 million who wins a jackpot, the odds are that you'll win about 20% more than with the old odds. You can balance that against the lower chance of winning, but as high as the odds are I don't think there's much point in worrying about them. Either you get (really) lucky, or you don't. The most important statistic in the lottery is that the house skims 50% off the top. The best you can expect over time is that you'll win back half of what you bet.
While I'm at it, here's my 2 cents about powerplay. For twice as much money you get the same odds of winning. If you're among the 1 in 36 who win you'll win more, but there's a 25% chance that double the money only gets you double the prize, and there's zero chance you'll get a bigger jackpot. If you spend that same dollar on an extra ticket you'll double your chances of winning, including your chances of winning the jackpot. For the $365 million jackpot in February 42 people matched 5+0. With 42 choices for the powerball, if all of them had spent the extra buck on a second ticket with a different powerball, we would expect that one of them would have won nearly $90 million. The rest would have gotten twice as much, and since the 2nd place bonus was in effect they'd have gotten more than what powerplay paid. If I'm going to spend another dollar I'm going to use it to improve my odds. It's kind of subjective, so YMMV.
A Quick pick yet again......
Dam those "systems": full speed ahead with the computer picks !
BTW, anyone want to bet how long it will take before someone steps up and says that they were in the pool but were absent the day of the ticket purchase ?
WHAT you TONKIN BOUT...........DoubleDown???????????
"Them State worker's know ....how.....to work, don't THEY?????
"ANJOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.......the........."MONEYY!
LOL......................................QUICK>>>>TRICK$$$
PSYKOMO
Lottery pools are a way for players who want more chances to win than they are willing to pay for or can afford and they work fine until a large sum of money is won and those players who want to share the winnings but weren't willing or couldn't afford to pay before the drawing come forward. They are the players who only want to be in the pool when it wins.
CONGRATTS to these workers.................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They know "HOW" to stay in the fast lane.................
"LOTTO POOL"...........fool & retire toomorrow
remember.....it's your $$$ @@@WK
LOL
PSYKOMO