LEWISTON — As the Powerball frenzy builds ahead of Wednesday night’s $1.5 billion drawing, the Maine Lottery is urging Mainers to think one and done.
“We want everyone to have fun but can’t stress enough the importance of playing responsibly,” said Michael Boardman, director of the Lottery Division of the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages & Lottery Operations. “One ticket is all you need, so there’s no need to spend a lot.”
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in more than 292 million. The odds of being struck by lightning? One in 1.9 million, according to the National Weather Service.
High odds haven’t stopped people from playing — whether millions of dollars or thousands are on the line. In fiscal year 2015, which ended June 30, lottery players in Maine spent $253 million on the games, the most spent in a single year since the lottery’s inception in Maine in 1974.
Last year also saw the most winnings paid to players ($156 million) and the most commissions paid to retailers ($16 million).
More fun facts to keep you occupied while you wait in line for your Powerball tickets:
* Of all the Powerball tickets sold last week for Saturday’s drawing, 89 percent were computer-generated Easy Pick. Players picked their own numbers 11 percent of the time.
* The largest Powerball prize ever won in Maine was $2 million. There have been a number of $2 million winners. The most recent was Theodore Drake of Bath, who won last May.
* The biggest winner of any lottery game in Maine was Beth Taber-Poulin of Belgrade Lakes. In 1992 she won a $9 million Megabucks jackpot.
* The Maine Lottery must release the names of winners, but winners can use a trust to claim their prize — effectively keeping them anonymous because the lottery would release the name of the trust as the winner.
* No Mainer has won a jackpot more than once.
* The lottery started in Maine with “Play Me,” a weekly draw game that cost 50 cents to play. Joseph Comeau of Bangor was the first “Play Me” jackpot winner. His prize: $150,000.
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