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As Lottery Jackpot Soars, Players Throw Superstitions Aside

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Last updated on January 8th, 2016 at 11:38 am

No one won the approximately half-a-billion-dollar Powerball jackpot Wednesday, so lottery players across the nation already are rushing to buy their tickets for the next drawing on Saturday. The estimated jackpot: $800 million—the largest jackpot of any lottery game in U.S. history.

The lotto fever has sparked Massachusetts-based convenience and coffee retailer Cumberland Farms to reveal the results of a recent survey on lottery ticket buying habits among consumers.

The survey found that lottery players are actually not so superstitious, with 64 percent of respondents saying they rarely play the same numbers more than once if they don’t win—and more than half of respondents saying they pay no attention to a store’s previous history of winners when deciding where to purchase tickets. So, while some may believe in rituals and superstitions—like being careful not to step on sidewalk cracks or crossing a black cat’s path—it turns out people are not heading to their local convenience stores with a rabbit’s foot in hand to play the same lucky numbers.

“With the lottery being such a popular pastime for Americans and for our customers, we thought it would be fun to see how people play, and how superstitious people really are when it comes to choosing their numbers, and where they purchase their tickets,” said David Heilbronner, senior manager of brand strategy of Cumberland Farms. “All of Cumberland Farms’ nearly 600 retail locations offer a variety of lottery tickets, and we hope one of our customers is among the lucky winners this time around.”

Cumberland Farms’ “Lucky Lottery” survey revealed the following:

• Sixty-four percent of respondents said they “rarely” use the same numbers when playing the lottery. If it didn’t work the last time around, it’s time to try something new.

• Fifty-nine percent of respondents said that a store’s previous history of lottery winners does not influence whether or not they purchase tickets from that location. It’s all a gamble anyway.

• Of those who don’t opt for quick picks, 38 percent of respondents choose their numbers based off of significant birthdays, while 11 percent use their wedding date or other important anniversaries when picking their numbers.

• When it comes to hitting the jackpot, 46 percent of respondents would call their significant other first‚ while 10 percent confessed their first call would be their lawyer.

• The web is the go-to source for checking winning numbers, with 74 percent of respondents saying they check to see if they won either online, or via Facebook and Twitter.

When it comes to purchasing scratch tickets, 33 percent of respondents select their tickets based on the theme (sports, crosswords or games, holidays, etc.). And, for those who gift scratch tickets for birthdays or holidays, they’re quite generous. Eighty-two percent of respondents said they do not expect a cut of the winnings—a gift is a gift.

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