Powerball gets rolling in Mass.
Tens of thousands buy tickets 1st day
Local gamblers are rejoicing: They can now end those trips across the border for a shot at the Powerball jackpot.
About 7,500 lottery agents statewide began selling tickets for the biweekly drawing yesterday, a move expected to raise about $25 million for the state annually and eventually lead to a national lottery.
For some, that means another stab at millions. For others, like Peggy Hamilton, manager of Harborpoint Liquors in Dorchester, “it’s another way to lose a couple bucks.’’
“I’ll play if it gets up there,’’ she said, referring to the life-changing jackpots, like the $365 million dished out in Nebraska in 2006. “But I don’t have the extra cash to just throw away the money.’’
But there were plenty of customers excited to play yesterday, days before the Wednesday night drawing for an estimated jackpot of $107 million. The state had sold 85,000 tickets by 2:30 p.m., according to state Treasurer Timothy Cahill.
“Oh, I’m getting one,’’ said Teddy Toland, an employee at Harborpoint. “I play all the time, just chasing the dream.’’
The game, which has garnered headlines for its nine-figure prizes and then local frustration from those who haven’t had access to a $1 shot at riches, was originally designed as a lottery for smaller states. Its counterpart, Mega Millions, was for the big states, like Massachusetts, New York, and Texas.
But a deal brokered over the past year opens both games to 33 states.
Many are saying the logical next step is a national lottery.
“That’s the theory,’’ Cahill said. “It may make more sense down the road to do one big game rather than two.’’
Cahill said the estimated $25 million the agreement will bring annually to the state will go mostly to local aid. He hopes it provides about a $12 million boost for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends July 1.
At the 7-Eleven across from Park Street Station yesterday, a mother and son came in for their first Powerball tickets after years of playing Mega Millions.
“It’s a great idea,’’ Linda Chipman, 61, of Chelsea said as she cashed in scratch tickets for a Powerball slip. “All the other states have it, so why not Massachusetts.’’
Her son, Ray, 38, bought a ticket that he hoped would allow him to “take off forever.’’
The odds are nearly 200 million to 1 that it won’t.
