The next Powerball drawing will be Saturday at 11 p.m. (Photos by Alexandra Tudor/Carolina News and Reporter)
If you missed your chance earlier to become a multi-millionaire, fear not – the $1.23 billion Powerball jackpot is still up for grabs.
The Powerball had no winner Wednesday night, so Saturday will be players’ next big chance to score.
There have been 40 consecutive Powerball drawings with no winner. The odds of winning Saturday are 1 in 292 million.
The winner may keep the full jackpot by taking annual installments over the next 30 years. Or they can choose one lump sum payment of $595.1 million. Most players opt for a single payment, despite it usually amounting to less than half the total prize.
South Carolinians have scored big in the past, with one ticket in the Palmetto State cashing in on the game’s second-largest jackpot – a whopping $1.537 billion – in 2018.
The Lucky Stop, a young convenience store on Columbia’s Hazelwood Road, is one of many places South Carolinian hopefuls can acquire Powerball tickets.
Ediyas Vhora opened The Lucky Stop’s doors just off Garners Ferry Drive more than a year ago.
Lottery ticket sales are a lucrative part of Vhora’s small business. On March 25, during an earlier Powerball run,he sold more than $1,200 worth of tickets.
As a Muslim, Vhora doesn’t personally participate in the game, he said. He doesn’t look down on those who do – and may spot them elsewhere if they come up short.
“I (have) good contact with people,” Vhora said. “I’m not bothered. Sometimes, you got a couple dollars light.”
Maintaining a positive relationship with the community is Vhora’s priority.
Shaquille Davenport, one of Vhora’s customers, has played the Powerball lottery a few times.
“When the jackpot’s big, I just try my luck,” Davenport said.
Exterior of the Lucky Stop convenience store on Hazelwood Street in Columbia.
Lottery-winning tickets sold by the Lucky Stop.
Previous Lucky Stop lottery winners.
Ediyas Vhora sells a Powerball ticket to a customer
ABOUT THE JOURNALISTS
Alexandra Tudor
Tudor is a senior journalism major at the University of South Carolina. She has worked in corporate communications in Switzerland and the United States. Tudor is interested in politics and aspires to be an investigative political reporter.
Amanda Petty
Petty is a junior journalism and political science major from Duncan, South Carolina. She has worked in various roles across USC’s student-run media, including as the arts and culture editor for The Daily Gamecock. She worked last summer as an intern at one of South Carolina’s Michelin facilities. She is interested in reporting on politics, the environment, music and art.
Mingo Martin
Martin is a junior multimedia journalism major with a minor in business administration. He is from Columbia, South Carolina, and is interested in sports writing and storytelling.
