At an estimated $48 million, tonight's Lotto 6-49 jackpot is the second largest in Canadian history, and Moose Javians seem to be increasing their ticket purchases in hopes to win big.
Troy Setter, Co-op Marketplace Gas Bar manager, said more people seemed to purchase lottery tickets over the past few days. He added lottery ticket sales at the downtown gas bar typically increase about 50 per cent whenever there is a huge jackpot at stake.
The largest lottery jackpot in Canadian history was October 2005, when Lotto 6-49 reached $54 million.
Andrea Marantz, Western Canada Lottery Corporation (WCLC) corporate affairs manager, told the Times-Herald substantially large lottery jackpots always result in increased lottery ticket sales.
On Feb. 14, when the 6-49 jackpot was worth over $25.7 million, Marantz said $5.3 million worth of $2 tickets were purchased in the WCLC jurisdiction (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut).
However, although there have been increased ticket purchases in recent weeks, Marantz said it doesn't have anything to do with financially-stressed people worrying about the recession.
She said lotto-purchasing figures overall are similar to last year's figures so far.
She said large lotto jackpots just capture the imagination of more people, resulting in more participation. Another trend at times of high jackpots, according to Marantz, is for more groups buying tickets together.
Setter said those working at the Co-op's downtown gas bar will probably all pitch in for a 6-49 ticket.
To find out what the winning numbers are after tonight's 6-49 draw, visit the Saskatchewan Lotteries website at www.sasklotteries.ca.
Your Chances of Winning
Michael Kozdron, University of Regina probability and statistics professor, said the only real value of purchasing lottery tickets is the entertainment value, as the lottery is not a viable financial investment.
With a one in 13,983,816 chance of actually winning the Lotto 6-49 jackpot, Kozdron said it's more likely the average person will get struck by lightning than he or she will win tonight - 50 times more likely in fact.
Statistically, one out of every 280,000 people falls victim to lightning strikes.
To further put the lottery odds into perspective, Kozdron said the odds of an individual winning it are about the same as someone flipping a coin 24 times and having it turn up heads every time.
Carter Haydu can be reached at 691-1265.
