Lottery Fever Fatigue: Powerball Soars to $425 Million
Aug. 7, 2013 — -- If it seems as though lottery fever has become a near-constant ailment, that's because it has.
Tonight's Powerball jackpot, worth a cool $425 million, is just the latest in a string of history-making prizes. If there is no winner in this round, the pot will grow even larger as more people line up to play.
Lottery officials admit to cashing in on the frenzy. In the case of Powerball, ticket prices doubled from $1 to $2 at the beginning of last year, also doubling the amount going into the jackpot.
Because the pots get so large so quickly, some people now won't even bat an eye until the prize reaches triple-digit millions.
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"Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts made the point Monday while guest-hosting "Live! with Kelly and Michael."
"It's interesting, because people are like, '$50 million, I'm not going to play for $50 million," Roberts said. "'While, oh, $300, $400, now I'm in.'"
Case in point: Gloria McKenzie, 84, made international headlines in June, a month after winning the $590 million dollar Powerball.
But chances are you've never heard of Patricia Chandler. Even though she won the Powerball that same month. Chandler barely made news because she only walked away with $77 million out of a $131 and a half million dollar jackpot.
That's not exactly peanuts, but nothing like the enormous jackpots to which people have become accustomed. But she's probably not complaining.
