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American Morning
Powerball Jackpot Continues to Grow
Aired August 23, 2001 - 09:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now a lighter story, a little dreaming for you to do as Powerball and that epidemic spreads. There was no winning ticket in last night's drawing for the $193 million jackpot. That sets the stage for a grand prize drawing on Saturday night, it could reach $280 million. Lottery officials are calling that number a conservative estimate.
Here are the not-so-lucky numbers from last night's drawing: 2, 36, 39, 30, 28, and the powerball number was 10.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Powerball tickets were selling at a rate of 53,000 per minute one hour before last night's drawing. That's a jackpot so big, odds so small, all this raises questions about who the real winners and losers are.
CNN's Maria Hinojosa has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Question, what is the oldest and most widespread form of state-sponsored gambling in the United States? Not the races. Not the card games. It's the lottery.
RICHARD MCGOWAN, BOSTON COLLEGE: We built the Erie Canal through lottery sales. We built the Washington monument in Washington, D.C. through lottery sales.
HINOJOSA: Last year, Americans spent $38.3 billion on lottery tickets. This year, it could even be more.
REBECCA PAUL, GEORGIA STATE LOTTERY: The vast majority of the public believe that lotteries are a terrific way to raise needed revenues. It's voluntary. People enjoying playing the games.
DAVID BRONCACCIO, AUTHOR, "SQUANDERING AIMLESSLY": The lottery is more popular during a down economic cycle. It's almost an act of desperation.
HINOJOSA: Desperation that can lead to a frenzy, as people drive across state borders just to buy tickets for Powerball.
(on camera): But think about these odds. If you drive just 10 miles to buy a lottery ticket, you're 16 times more likely to die in a car accident than you are to buy the winning ticket. Your chances of winning -- 80 million to one.
BRONCACCIO: It's a tax on stupid people. And stupid is a really harsh word, but what it means is that people who are less financially sophisticated and perhaps have less of the education that is needed to understand personal finances, are the people who gravitate to the lottery.
HINOJOSA: Not so, says Rebecca Paul, who launched lotteries in Illinois, Florida and Georgia, which, along with 34 other states, use lottery revenue to pay for education and public works instead of raising taxes.
PAUL: When you look at the incredible good that's done with the dollars that are raised, and the relative innocence -- if you look at all other forms of gaming -- that a lottery ticket provides, its a win-win for certainly legislators and their constituents who want to play.
HINOJOSA: Lottery foes are quick to note any benefits are offset by a bigger loss. The number of people who are drawn into, and hooked by, state-sponsored gambling. But these days...
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: If you wanted to pick us up a couple tickets, we wouldn't say no.
HINOJOSA: With the media in Powerball frenzy itself, the pressure is on for everyone to get in the game.
PROF. RICHARD MCGOWAN, BOSTON COLLEGE: Right now, most Americans, 87 percent of Americans accept gambling as a form of entertainment.
HINOJOSA: And until the lucky few stop winning millions, Americans will continue playing the game.
Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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