First of all, what does it take to win? It takes two things. A $2 ticket and a boatload of luck.

Many people are rushing to stores to get what they hope is the answer to their prayers. The winning ticket that will change their life forever.

KXRB talked to a couple of people in retail stores selling tickets on the big day of the drawing, including Jenny at the HyVee store on South Minnesota Avenue in Sioux Falls who had customers backed up as far as she could see as early as 7:30 AM.

A little past 8:00 AM Dan Johnson, the manager of The Gas Stop at 57th and Western in Sioux Falls, talked about the activity at his store.

Dan said that a lot of people who come into his store don't think they will win.

"A lot of them say, interesting enough, 'I never win,' so I don't know why they still do it," said Dan.

When asked what he says when people ask him to give them the winning ticket, Dan admitted "If I could do that, I wouldn't be behind this counter."

In a phone interview, Norm Lingle of The South Dakota Lottery talked about what this all does for the state regarding the revenue created. More importantly Norm offered some good advice for everyone: play responsibly.


Norm Lingle, South Dakota Lottery:


Past winners of mega-lottery drawings and financial planners have some more sound advice: stick to a budget, invest wisely, learn to say no and be prepared to lose friends while riding an emotional roller-coaster of joy, anxiety, guilt and distrust.

“I had to adapt to this new life,“ said Sandra Hayes, 52, a former child services social worker who split a $224 million Powerball jackpot with a dozen co-workers in 2006, collecting a lump sum she said was in excess of $6 million after taxes. “I had to endure the greed and the need that people have, trying to get you to release your money to them. That caused a lot of emotional pain. These are people who you’ve loved deep down, and they’re turning into vampires trying to suck the life out of me.”

“I know a lot of people who won the lottery and are broke today. If you’re not disciplined, you will go broke. I don’t care how much money you have,” added the single mom.

For the record Wednesday night's drawing, the lump sum payout is $327 million before taxes.  Don’t think there’s anyway to blow that much dough? Mike Tyson earned over $300 million in his boxing career and filed for bankruptcy in 2003.

And finally, what are your odds of winning? The answer is 1 in 175 million. You are three times more likely to die from a falling coconut than you are to win the Powerball jackpot.

More From KXRB