With a jackpot of $177 million, the Powerball is currently in a very interesting position. This is as a result of no one getting the six white balls (the winning numbers) from the previous draw. The bettors were then urged to buy more lotto tickets from local outlets. The drawing is scheduled for Wednesday and, if no one wins it, the lottery jackpot will be much more than $177M next time too. However, beneath this enthusiasm is a much deeper story, a story that is not only about fortune, but also a story about the loss of the American economy, the disappearing light at the end of the tunnel and the insecurity of today’s world.
The Desire to Take the Chance to Overcome the Hard Times
People are attracted to buying Powerball tickets in other ways than the gaming aspect. For years, the event never attracted as many people as it does now, because everyone can catch the jackpot fever. The conditions are not favorable as there are supermarkets that have caused the prices of goods to fluctuate and houses have experienced rental price increases due to the city demographic. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the businesses which have either shut down or been declared non-essential by the government and hence have resorted to retrenchment, have contributed a major portion of the unemployment rate. It seems that the rating of job layoffs also faced a significant increase throughout the year. In such a distressful situation, you can’t really blame them for trying their luck to escape the paycheck-to-paycheck curse.
On the one hand, we have the rich, who need a big amount of money, have an appointment with financial advisor and have their lawyer draw up a will, so they can talk among themselves or laugh cynically at others when they are buying a Powerball ticket. They are not wrong when they say that the savings accounts are a waste of time. Because of this feeling, people won’t mind investing $2 in a far-fetched win. They already believe that the savings accounts don’t lead them to well-being. Even if everyone could invest so little money, one day we might pay off all of our debts, buy a new house, and finance our kids’ schooling at once. And there is a real pleasure in a series of thoughts which go to great heights of fantastic wealth that the prize money might give and then fall through all the shades of what looks to be the most unlikely event in the world. Apart from taking home millions of dollars, we would never give a second thought to the precious hours we spent without worries nor do we have any concern about our worldly possessions either. Thus, all of the illusions and daydreaming will come to an end when the truth is revealed; that is if no one won any of the mentors and the organization has to carry the award until the third category. We might be the winner if the truth is that no one can prove that they are holding the ticket. To assess the validity of the speculation, we will conduct a survey in 20 places in 5 states. After the interview, the subjects will receive an email with the payment methods written for them. They get back to them by sending the form provided with the check. Besides
Only this year so far, we have already seen three jackpot winners who won prizes that ranged from $167 million to $527 million. Still, it is also the increasing number of participants that speaks louder about the whole situation. Thus, it is clear that Americans are not only playing more, but they are also hoping more.
The lottery ticket purchases have, indeed, experienced an uplift throughout the country, particularly in the lower-income areas and among workers under high stress. The very notion of leaving the daily grind through a set of lucky numbers has sunk into the minds of the people and turned into a thing of national significance.
How Powerball Looks Like a Modern American Dream
The time-honored American dream, work your way upwards, save religiously, own a home, is becoming less feasible especially after everything that has happened in 2020. Many factors such as student loans, below-average living wages, and increasing prices of goods have led to a situation where even people with regular incomes are unable to save, invest, or make any progress. At the same time, the Powerball becomes a not only a make-pretend character but also a psychological means of releasing forced from there.
It gives a person something that a 9-to-5 cannot guarantee them: freedom.
“I don’t really anticipate winning,” says a lottery player who often plays in Ohio. “But for two dollars, I get to feel like my life could change. That feeling gets me through the week.”
A close examination of a dream
The tickets for Powerball are available in 45 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and they bring in revenue of billions of dollars per year, which however disappear from the states without a single trace of it. A lot of this money is channeled straight back to state education and infrastructure funds, but the feelings people have and the emotions they carry with them when they engage in the lottery are just as important. What is even worse now with digital apps like Jackpocket is that a player can easily get lost in the game. They are making it even more accessible — therefore, the addiction rate is moving upwards too.
More Than Numbers
Millions of Americans are preparing for the next Powerball draw and not only to hit the jackpot but also to get a completely new life. The surge in participation this time means the story is not just about figures, whether someone becomes a winner or not on Wednesday.
This is a matter of the conflict that comes with the increment in the desire for financial freedom and at the same time the fear of money not coming in. Through good and bad, Powerball has also come to stand for this.
In a country where wealth is generally felt to be in the hands of a few, at least one of the few, or beyond one’s wildest dreams, the lottery is an exception. Thus it’s one of the few places where anybody—absolutely anybody—can put themselves in a position of being a winner.
