# I might have almost won the Powerball jackpot **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 27, 2001, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-might-have-almost-won-the-powerball-jackpot/78328 "2001-08-27T15:16:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-might-have-almost-won-the-powerball-jackpot/78328/1 "2001-08-27T15:16:58Z")
Last Friday there was a collection for getting a block of powerball tickets for everyone in the company. $10 each, which I didn’t have on me (I rarely carry cash unless I expect to spend it). One of our employees was going to New Hampshire to purchase the tickets. And someone who purchased a New Hampshire ticket won. AND the person who was given the money to get the tickets is out today, though no specific announcement has been made that we had losing tickets. If one of “our” numbers was the winning number I am uncertain of what sort of mental state it will put me in, or what the hell I would do for a job (since almost the entire company will be pretty wealthy all of a sudden-- we are a _very_ small company and that was a lot of money). I never, ever thought I’d hear myself say this, but for once I don’t want to know who won the Powerball, because if I could have shared in the winnings and didn’t I am going to go crazy! ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-might-have-almost-won-the-powerball-jackpot/78328/2 "2001-08-27T17:05:19Z")
Well, if this turns out to be the case, then I imagine that you will feel a lot like the lame child in _The Pied Piper of Hamlin_, who cannot keep up and ends up being shut out from the cave at the end. Keep us posted, we’re here for you (I for one promise to be supportive and not torture you). ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-might-have-almost-won-the-powerball-jackpot/78328/3 "2001-08-27T18:36:22Z")
There’s still a damn good chance, you’ll breath a sigh of relief when it turns out the tickets didn’t win. ---
**Author:** ![MysterEcks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MysterEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysterEcks)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2001, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-might-have-almost-won-the-powerball-jackpot/78328/4 "2001-08-28T06:03:30Z")
The $115 million Super 7, back before they managed to “improve” the lottery almost into a coma. It was the record US lottery at the time, so you might have heard about it. And, yes, I really had a winning ticket. Ok, it was for seven bucks, but it was still a winning ticket in the $115 million lottery. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2001, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-might-have-almost-won-the-powerball-jackpot/78328/5 "2001-08-28T06:23:12Z")
You might have better luck if you picked more than 5 23 25 55 and any other multiple of five… Not that you shouldn’t mind you, but I could have sworn I saw a [sub]fnord[/sub] floating around at our lotto drawing last week… Tristan, who is also a Discordian. Mind you don’t step on Gulik. 5 Hempnotes to any other outed discordians, payable in person if you come to SacDope… heheheheh\* \*[sub]I’m lying.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/779978/32.png) [@Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumba_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-might-have-almost-won-the-powerball-jackpot/78328/6 "2001-08-29T19:20:44Z")
Come back **erislover**. You weren’t the office pool I was just hearing about on the news were you? ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-might-have-almost-won-the-powerball-jackpot/78328/7 "2001-08-29T20:34:37Z")
_sigh_ Thankfully, I avoided missing the winnings, as strange as that sounds. But wait, you say there was an office pool that _did_ win? Win the powerball or some other lottery? Heh, Big Game tonight… I was doing some oddball calculations, and if a person had 50000000 bucks (what 200 mill would probably turn into after you get the lump sum payment) you could spend $2000 a day for 65 years. My oh my. I’d be 90 before i ran out of money. I’d like to try! (Brewster’s Millions II) And Eris only knows what that is in Hempscript, my conversion rate chart seems to be valid only on the 74th day of every month… ☹ Actually, what lottery numbers _should_ a discordian pick? 2, 3, 5, 8, (not 9 that’s the number of letters in “hot dog bun” a big no-no) 10, 15, 23, 25… 32 (which is 23 backwards AND 2^5), hmmm… What is fnord in hex ASCII? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/779978/32.png) [@Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumba_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2001, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-might-have-almost-won-the-powerball-jackpot/78328/8 "2001-08-29T20:48:03Z")
I only heard half of the news broadcast, so I don’t know what state it was in. But, one of the four winners of the recent Powerball is being sued by someone who says the ticket was part of an office pool. I was hoping it was you. And, thats all I know. I couldn’t find any details on the web. ---
**Author:** ![Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/779978/32.png) [@Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumba_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2001, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-might-have-almost-won-the-powerball-jackpot/78328/9 "2001-08-30T00:09:08Z")
[http://wire.ap.org/?FRONTID=HOME&SITE=NCCHN&enter=Go](http://wire.ap.org/?FRONTID=HOME&SITE=NCCHN&enter=Go) Here it is! On the radio I heard “powerball” “office pool” and “$10 each”. Thats why I thought of you. Too bad it wasn’t. ☹