Even with 1 in 175 million odds, it's still worth a shot

Tylor Kelly of Rochester gets his Powerball ticket from "Happy" at the M & N Borderline Beverage on Highland Street in East Rochester on Tuesday. (Harrison Thorp photo)

EAST ROCHESTER - Statisticians will say that your chances of winning tonight’s Powerball drawing are about the same whether you buy one ticket or 10.

But that’s not stopping a lot of folks from plunking down a sawbuck for a chance to win the $400 million kitty, said Alpesh Patel “Happy,” a cashier at M & N Borderline Beverage on Highland Street in East Rochester.

Happy, who prefers his nickname at the end of his name, said a lot of customers are putting down $20 to buy 10 Powerball tickets, which two years ago went from $1 to $2, creating a slew of megajackpots in a short timeframe.

Since the price change there have been four Powerball jackpots between $400 million and $600 million.

Happy said that the most he’s seen spent in the latest Powerball frenzy is $100 on Tuesday for 50 tickets, but that may change today.

Tylor Kelly of Rochester wasn’t aware of tonight’s big jackpot, but upon learning, plunked down $10 for five chances to win big. He said the first thing he’d do if he won was move out of New England, but later amended that to building a nice house somewhere around here.

So what are the exact odds on winning tonight’s jackpot? About 1 in 175 million.

But when you’re talking about a $400 million jackpot, it’s probably worth a shot.

And if someone wins on a ticket bought at M & N Borderline Beverage the storeowners will get $30,000. That’ll make “Happy” happy.