Welcome to

The state’s new Powerball game is cannibalizing other lottery games but boosting overall sales, funneling an additional 31.5 million dollars to schools in just two months. As Whitney Ray tells us, jackpot fever is driving people to choose Powerball over the Florida Lotto in hopes of a bigger payout.

Hear it Here: Powerball Boost Lottery Sales

Don Heath has been playing the Florida Lottery since it’s inception in 1988. When the state began selling Powerball, the allure of a bigger jackpot changed Don’s spending habits.

“I dropped the amount I played on lottery to play more of the Powerball, the money is bigger,” said Don.

Sales for the first Powerball drawing in Florida totaled more than 7.5 million dollars. One of every four dollars that went to traditional games, now goes to Powerball.

“We expected some cannibalization of games and the amount of decrease has been slight compared to what we expected,” said Florida Lottery Spokeswoman Jackie Barrieros.

Cash 3, Play 4, and Fantasy 5 have seen slight decreases, but remain the Lottery’s strongest games. Lotto sales are down eight percent but scratch-off sales are actually up ten. Still, the draw of a big Powerball jackpot drives players fantasies about hitting it big.

“I would take care of my grandma, my aunts. Really just take care of the family,” said Shalinus Pye.

“I have a couple of charities I would give to, and I would make sure for my family,” said Don.

So far no Florida players have hit the big Florida jackpot. Despite the lack of a jackpot winner, Florida has more Powerball prize winners than any other states. 12 Floridians have won cash prices of 200-thousand dollars; four have won a million.