This is not the first time Polla has hit the jackpot by any means. Earlier this year in July he won a $50,000 jackpot and as if that wasn’t enough, he won $1,500 in 2004 and then scored $15,000 during that years Lottery sponsored live game show at the State Fair in Coeur d’ Alene. The grand total is a whopping $167.000! Not bad for a guy who runs a gas station!

Polla does have a lucky charm, a 1998 quarter, the same year his son was born. Polla also stated he will be cutting back on lottery tickets as he thinks it will be quite some time before he wins again. Polla plans to pay off some bills and take his son to Disneyland. There have been a few isolated cases of multiple lottery winners such as the central Ohio auto dealer who won the Ohio Lottery twice or the 81 year old Iowa man who won $81,000 in three lottery wins.

As any lottery player will tell you “you can’t win unless you’re in.” We at LuckyLotto congratulate Mr. Polla on his lottery wins and wish him and his family a great trip to Disneyland!

Other states, according to experts, have not had any decrease in lottery sales since the economy entered it’s slump.  In fact, according to john Kindt, a gambling critic from the University of Illinois who conducted an examination of lottery trends during the recession of the early 1990s, gambling tends to be unaffected by recessions.

“Instead of buckling down and facing the economic realities, people take chances,” Kindt said.

So what is causing this lottery slump in the Lonestar state?   Texas officials fear that revenues dropped more than $100 million in the most recent fiscal year, which amounts to a $49 million blow to public education, because the current crop of games are both boring and  unappealing.  According to statistics, sales are down 2.7 percent, including a $73 million decrease in Texas scratch-off games, which are usually extremely popular.

Representative Ismael Florews remarks that, “People get bored. How many times can you employ the same games?”

Flores and other officials at the commission complain there is no way to fix the problem of this 16 year old lottery system because Texas law restricts the lottery commission from introducing any new forms of gambling, such as keno, video lottery terminals and instant online games. Such games have become big hits in other states because they give instant results in our instant society.

“We can’t expand, we can’t do anything,” Flores complained, directing his ire at gambling opponents who he insists have blocked a good number of his gambling initiatives in the Legislature.

Texas lottery officials estimate that, if allowed, video lottery terminals at racetracks could bring in an additional $1.4 billion in state revenue over a five-year period. However,  critics of gambling don’t seem to care about the numbers.  They say the state has no business expanding games that tend to appeal to those least able to afford them.

According to rob Kolner, “It’s a poor, unreliable revenue source for the state, period.”  Rob is a lobbyist with the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, a group that opposes gambling as a revenue source.

Texas lottery laws leave the state with bingo, an assortment of scratch-off games, plus a handful of other games, including Lotto Texas, which still sells for $1.

Education officials are not overly worried about the drop in lottery revenue, mostly because schools are not completely or even highly dependent on lottery funds.

According to Texas Education Agency Spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe, “the lottery provides us with a billion a year. When they slip below that, other state monies make up the difference.”

The addition of Florida means bigger jackpots and slightly altered odds. Players will actually have a better chance of winning smaller prizes according to the North Carolina lottery. Many new features have been added including changes in white and red ball numbers. White balls will now be numbered 55 to 59 while the number of red balls - the Powerball - a player can select will be reduced from 42 to 39. Odds of winning will now be 1 in 195 million and the odds of winning one of the many smaller prizes will improve to 1 in 35.

Other changes include,

1. The starting jackpot will be $20 million instead of $15 million.
2. Reduced odds will add an additional 3 million prizes.
3. The ticket price will remain the same and there will still be 9 ways to win. The power play option will be continued for an additional $1 and will be offering a random multiplier of 2X, 3X, 4X or 5X for all cash prizes won on the bottom seven prize levels.
4. The multiplier does not apply to the jackpot or 2^nd prize.
5. The second tier Match 5 win now has a guaranteed $1 million prize when you purchase Power Play and match all five white balls. This $1 million prize will be paid in cash, in one lump sum less Federal and State withholdings.

The new Powerball game is expected to start in January of 2009. This is great news for lottery players nationwide and welcome Florida!

]]> http://www.luckylotto.com/powerball/powerball-welcomes-florida/feed http://www.luckylotto.com/tips-and-strategies/tabri http://www.luckylotto.com/tips-and-strategies/tabri#comments Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:01:36 +0000 luckylotto http://www.luckylotto.com/?p=624

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After winning, Powell tried to follow his religion’s tithe commandment by offering to give 10 percent of his winnings to his church, First Baptist Orange Park. Unfortunately, the church and Pastor David Tarkington turned town the $600,000 donation. Though many churches disapprove of both the lottery and gambling, Tarkington refused to specify why he turned down the money.

Other Pastors, like Pastor Dr. Lorenzo Hall of the El-Beth-El Divine Holiness Church who also does not necessarily approve of gambling, would be willing to accept the $600,000 because it could do a lot of good for the church.

Dr. Hall said he would welcome Powell’s donation to his church anytime. He says that he does not ask where the money his congregation donates comes from.

“We are in the process now of building a youth center, and you would be surprised at the people that can be helped with $600,000,” says Hall.

Other church members, too, play the lottery and say they would also offer 10 percent of their winnings to their church. Bethel Baptist Church member Lottie Walker says if she won, the first thing she would do is give lottery money to her church.

While Miami is not the largest or most populous city in Florida, it is Florida’s lottery leader with more lotteries per capita than any other Florida city. In fact, there is one lottery terminal for every 290 people in Miami.

LuckyLotto, an online lottery website specializing in lottery news and information conducted a study of the lottery in Florida that yielded some interesting results. LuckyLotto reported that Miami, also ranked the 3rd richest city in America, has more lottery terminals per capita than any other city in Florida.

According to the official Florida lottery website, Miami has 1248 lottery terminals. That is an unbelievable 35 lottery terminals per square mile. With all these lottery terminals, is no surprise that so many Miami residents are winning the lottery jackpot!

While it may seem more likely that the more populous city of Jacksonville would have more lottery terminals per capita, that is not the case. Jacksonville has 679 lottery terminals, which amount to less than 1 lottery terminal per square mile. Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale were also all outperformed by Miami when it came to lottery terminals per capita with only 5, .9, 6, and 8 lottery terminals per square mile respectively.

Evidence of the popularity of the lottery in Miami is the great success Miamians have had with the lottery. In fact, in the past year, Miami residents have won each of Florida’s big lotto games - Mega Money, Florida Lotto, and Fantasy 5.

In April, Christopher Bleakly of Miami won the Mega Money jackpot of $1.6 million. Bleakly is proof of the lottery luck in Miami. He accidentally purchased a Mega Money ticket instead of a Florida Lotto ticket and ended up winning the jackpot!

In July, Baldwin Jarrett, another Miami resident, won the Florida Lotto jackpot of $38 million. Jarrett, who purchased his winning ticket at the Neighborhood quick Stop located at 9869 N. Kendall Drive in Miami, chose his to receive his winnings as a one-time lump-sum payment of $21,474,649.

In September of 2007, a Miami resident, Alberto Anaya, won the Fantasy 5 jackpot. Anaya, who won the Fantasy 5 with a free Quick Pick ticket will receive his prize as a lump-sum payment of $263,359.01. Anaya received his free winning ticket at Paz Bakery located at 7183 S.W. 8th Street in Miami.

With the current state of the national economy, many may be surprised to hear that the lottery is booming in Miami. However, Miami is the 3rd richest city in America and is one of the country’s most important financial centers. This strong and stable economy allows Miami residents to continue to play the lottery all year long.
The truth about the lottery is that someone always wins and people always hope that it will be them. No matter what the reasons for the immense popularity of the lottery in Miami, LuckyLotto is pleased to name Miami the “Lottery Capital of Florida.”

This comes as a surprise to Rachel Ricketts, 21, of Granada Hills, who says that she “went around to a few places but none had any scratch tickets.”

California, which is home to the most famous Instant City, is also the Scratch Ticket capital of the US. According to a survey conducted by LuckyLotto, an online lottery website specializing in lottery news and information, California has more instant scratch-off tickets than any other large lottery state. In fact, California has 70 different kinds of scratcher tickets, offering a game to satisfy every lottery player. Pennsylvania comes in a close second with 61, and New York comes in third with 55 kinds of instant lottery tickets.

California has instant lottery tickets that range from $1 to $5. The state offers games like the Crossword Tripler, Double Bingo, and the most lucrative California Millionaire Scratcher that offers the chance to win $1 Million! California now also offers its newest scratch-off card, the Happy Cow Scratchers with four different cow scenes!

With all of these scratch-off games to choose from, it is not surprising that California has had some huge scratch-off lotto winners. Alfonzo Miranda Solana, of Anaheim, won $100,000 on the Cash Payday Scatchers ticket. He plans to buy a new car with his exciting instant winnings. California has also been home to three recent $1 million instant winners.

Amber McKinney, a part-time college student and clerk at a gas station, won The Next Millionaire Scratcher game when she decided to buy a ticket that was hanging out of the dispenser at work. To her surprise that ticket was worth $1 million. She said she was so surprised that she did not believe it and had to ask her boss if it was real.

Yolanda Cortez also won an instant $1 Million from a California instant lotto ticket. Yolanda, who owns a bakery in Burbank, purchased her Next Millionaire Scatchers ticket at a local 7-Eleven. Yolanda was the 18th instant winner of the Next Millionaire Scratcher game. She plans to reinvest her winnings into the bakery.

Francisco Lopez, of Menlo Park, won his instant $1 Million from the California Millionaire Scratcher game. Mr. Lopez purchased his ticket as a result of a last minute decision at the Pic N Pay Food and Liquor store in Glen Ellen. Lopez said he knew immediately that his ticket was a winner. Lopez, who is a supervisor for a janitorial service, plans to pay off his family’s bills and maybe buy his own business with his winnings.

California is home to San Francisco, the Instant City, which has always been a city of changing identities, landscapes, and land. San Francisco, which was propelled by the California Gold Rush in 1848, almost instantaneously became the largest city on the West Coast during its time. It is no surprise, then, that instant lottery tickets are so popular in this instant state.

The success of the instant lottery in California is evident. There are lots of instant lottery choices and lots of instant lottery winners. Due to the immense popularity of scratch tickets in this “instant state”, LuckyLotto.com is pleased to name California the “Instant Lotto Metropolis of the US.”