florida powerball numbers: POWERBALL players test their luck in first-ever Florida drawing

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA - It's the largest jackpot that Florida Lottery has ever seen: $105 million!

Here are the winning numbers for 1/7/2009: 23-31-33-38-52 and Powerball: 24

Ticket sales for the lotto craze skyrocketed Wednesday, the night of the very first Powerball drawing open to Floridians, at a 7-Eleven in Lee County.

The enormous jackpot is driving in ticket sales at a record pace. The first Powerball ticket in Florida was sold just three days ago, and already our state has contributed nearly $6 million to the $105 million jackpot, but as WINK News found out, it's getting harder to win it.

"It's the excitement of the money," Powerball player Bruce Jones says. "It starts out so large and it stays large and it gets larger by the day."

Powerball players hope to turn their $1 ticket into a $105 million jackpot.

"I let God pick my numbers!" Bill Antriopoulos, Powerball player, says.

"I'm focused on the same nine numbers I had in dream, and I'm going to play them nine times, so hopefully they'll be lucky tonight," Christine Rodriguez, Powerball player, says.

One after another, people line up to play their luck at Powerball.

7-Eleven clerk Michelle Westfall asks each customer to play the game. She has an ulterior motive.

"We have 300 tickets to split among store employees so long as we remember to ask every customer," Westfall says.

It sure increases her odds of winning.

To play Powerball, you choose five numbers between one and 59. Then, one Powerball number between one and 39. The amount of possible combinations makes your odds of winning one in about 195-million. Those odds increased since Florida joined the multi-state, mega-lottery.

"It's been busy; almost everybody's buying tickets," Westfall says. "$105 million jackpot -- everyone wants one."

But others have a different strategy.

"It's a flawed strategy, in that it's a random drawing but I figure less people are playing the regular lotto, so with any luck, we'll pull out a win," Grant Childs, Florida Lottery player, says.

About 35% of the proceeds from the lottery goes to funding education kindergarten through college. A spokesman with the Lee County School District tells WINK News that it doesn't amount to much. Last year the district received $7 million, which was about enough to run the district for three days.


Source: winknews.com