ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC)- It is the largest Powerball ever and the second-largest lottery payout in U.S. history. If you bought a ticket, you probably have a strategy, even if it's no strategy at all.
$550 million was up for grabs Wednesday and a record number of people held on to their tickets and waited for the numbers to be read off. Each person has their own strategy with the Powerball, each hoping their decision pays off.
Record-breaking numbers or not, millions play the Powerball each and every time. When you buy a ticket, you have a choice. You can have random numbers or self-selected numbers. It is all about a person's strategy.
"I buy them now and then," says Madelyn Beckstrom of Kasson. "When I feel the urge, and when it gets to be big money."
For Beckstrom, she normally buys random numbers, but for $550 million, she is changing things up.
"I picked the birthday numbers of my husband, my son, numbers from my daughter and a lucky number."
For others, the strategy does not change. In fact, their method is simple: no strategy at all.
"No, I just let the machine do it," explains Kelsey Morris of Byron. "I don't have special numbers at all. With a bunch of us girls, we always pool in and if one of our tickets win we always split it, kind of deal."
There is also the strategy of buying multiple tickets, like Steve Springsted from Kasson.
"Yeah, I usually go random and my strategy is to buy three tickets. I have one for myself, one for my wife and one for my sister who is up here from Florida."
Whichever strategy you go with, each side agrees with the fact that nobody has an advantage.
"None whatsoever. It's all luck."
And luck may soon award the countries next multi-millionaire.
