By Curt Peterson, Standard Correspondent
HARTLAND — Within three weeks two customers at Mike’s Store and Deli in Hartland each won $50,000 in the Vermont State Lottery.
“I’m just glad two local people had those winning tickets,” store owner Mike Pearce said. His store, which sells gasoline and is very close to the Interstate 91 exit, gets a lot of out-of-state traffic, so that winners are local isn’t a sure bet.
Word gets around a small town fast, but both the lucky ticket buyers asked that Pearce not reveal their identity, and it’s difficult to get any information out of the Vermont Lottery organization. Meanwhile, people were buying tickets in the recent $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot at a frenzied pace last month. Pearce said his store normally sells $500 to $600 in lottery tickets every day, but during the recent “Powerball Rush” daily sales went to $2,000 and then $3,000.
Part of this volume might be the result of what some call the “Lucky Store Syndrome” — some hopeful ticket buyers seek out stores where there are more frequent and/or bigger winners thinking they will improve their odds of winning. The earlier $50,000 winner on the “Winter Winners” scratch ticket, Pearce said, may have drawn some people to buy their Powerball tickets from him.
“There are people who come into the store just to buy lottery tickets,” Pearce said. “Others come in to buy a ticket and buy something else while they’re here. Then there are the people who come in to buy bread and soda or something in the deli, and grab a ticket when they pay.”
There are more people buying just lottery tickets than those buying something else as well. Some come to his store every day and spend an hour or more buying instant winner tickets and scratching them in their vehicles.
“But overall, having the lottery here is good for business,” he said.
Stores that sell winning tickets receive a commission equal to 1 percent of winnings over $499, but the maximum bonus on any one winning ticket is $30,000. This would mean Mike’s received $500 for each of the two recent $50,000 winners.
Stores are required to pay prizes up to $499 directly. Any winners of prizes over that amount and less than $2,000, Pearce said, can redeem their tickets at any one of several banks specifically authorized to do so.
“Anyone who wins more than $2,000,” Pearce said, “has to go to the Vermont Lottery offices in Barre to collect. And their state and federal taxes on the prize will be deducted right on the spot.”
He estimated the $50,000 winners will each net about $34,000.
Scratch tickets, or instant winners, make up about half of Mike’s Store’s lottery sales.
The recent $50,000 Powerball winner at Mike’s had to have four correct numbers plus the correct Powerball, at odds of 1 in 913,129. Lucky, indeed. Ticket buyers can win $4 if they have the correct Powerball or one correct number plus the correct Powerball. Prizes are assigned similarly, with increasing luck, for $7, $100, $50,000, $1 million and, of course the jackpot. After each jackpot the Powerball prize starts at $40 million and grows as drawings occur with no winner. The jackpot can be redeemed for the full amount in a 30-year annuity or may be cashed in a lump sum at a discounted rate, roughly two-thirds of the annuity amount.
Pearce can’t tell you how many tickets he sells, because the Vermont Lottery reports to him in dollar amounts rather than ticket numbers. “I can only tell you that in 2014 our store’s ticket sales provided $41,000 that went back into education, and 2015 should be much better.” Net profits from the games in every one of the 44 lottery states are dedicated to some cause or another approved by their residents. In Vermont, that cause is education.
Are Vermonters lucky at lottery? Not really, according to statistics. Since 2003 there have been 189 Powerball jackpot winners, none of whom lived in either Vermont or Maine. In fact, there have been only 10 winners in the six New England states in all that time, while Florida, for example, had 11. Fishy? Probably not, if you consider the population of Florida is 20.3 million and the population of all of New England is 13.7 million.
Pearce explained that the Vermont Lottery is run like a tight ship. When his store makes its monthly ticket purchases any commissions they have earned by selling winning tickets is deducted from their invoice. And there’s a monthly accounting to make sure all lottery purchase money is turned in.
“I know a few stores in Vermont have had tickets stolen by their employees, up to $20,000 over a period of time, and the lottery holds the store responsible. It’s put some of them out of business,” he said.
This article first appeared in the January 28, 2016 edition of the Vermont Standard.