KENNESAW, Ga. — At Heby’s Food Mart in Mableton, Timothy Fuller says some things are best kept out of sight and out of mind.
“If you keep thinking about it you’re never gonna play,” Timothy said.
He’s talking about Powerball.
The third largest jackpot in Powerball history is up for grabs tonight, billed at $1 billion in the pot.
It’s the seventh time either Powerball or Mega Millions have topped out that high.
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A mathematician spoke to Channel 2 Action News about the chance of winning, bringing in some sobering statistics.
“Okay! So what are your odds of winning the lottery?” Kennesaw State Statistics Professor Nicole Carder asked.
The professor ran the numbers for Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen, on a whiteboard.
It was a lot of numbers.
For starters, a player has to match the 5 white balls out of a total of 69. Then you must match the red Powerball out of 26. Your chances of doing all that are one in 292,201,388. That’s why the professor doesn’t play.
“I don’t,” Carder said. “But I think just through this experience today I feel like I have to!”
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“Well my brother is a mathematician,” Chef Shombe Jones said. The chef runs the TDT BBQ counter in the back of Heby’s. For him Powerball is a sure thing.
“I do good ‘without’ the lottery!” the chef said.
Heby’s owner Haile says if you don’t buy a ticket, you have a zero in zero chance of winning. Timothy Fuller’s advice is to forget about the odds.
“Those who don’t play are thinking about it too hard,” Timothy said.
While the Powerball jackpot is already hitting $1 billion, Mega Millions isn’t far behind at $720 million.
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