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West Virginia home to plenty of Powerball winners

By WTOP Staff

JOHN RABY
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia lottery players are on a roll this year, with nine Powerball tickets worth at least $1 million sold in the state.

While five other states have had more people win $1 million or more, West Virginia is No. 1 per capita, averaging one Powerball ticket worth $1 million for every 200,000 of its 1.8 million residents.

“It’s just a lucky streak that we’re on that’s amazing,” said Randy Burnside, a spokesman for the West Virginia Lottery. “Hopefully we’ll have a lot more this year.”

The odds of winning are the same anywhere Powerball is played. So far this year, there have been 161 Powerball tickets nationwide that have won $1 million, matching the first five numbers in the six-number game.

After Saturday’s drawing, only five states sold more of those $1 million-plus tickets than West Virginia, all with much larger populations: New York (19), Florida (17), California (13) and Pennsylvania and Texas (10), said executive director Chuck Strutt of the Urbandale, Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees Powerball.

California is the king of the grand-prize winners, selling two of the four Powerball tickets matching all six numbers this year. The others were in Florida and Missouri.

But when taking population into account, West Virginia is No. 1. Vermont, with two Powerball millionaires and 626,630 residents, is second and Louisiana, with seven winners and a population of 4.6 million, was third.

West Virginia’s median household income is among the worst in the nation.

“We’re just tickled to death to be able to create life-changing money for folks in the state,” Burnside said.

Susan Dennis regularly buys lottery tickets at home in West Virginia and when traveling outside the state, but those tickets always seem to come up empty.

“I think I just better stick with West Virginia,” she said.

Dennis was among 12 people from a small mattress business in West Virginia to share a $1 million Powerball prize in February.

Powerball rules were changed in early 2012 to help increase jackpots and payouts. The odds of matching the first five numbers in the Powerball game are about 1 in 5 million.

In addition to Powerball, two tickets from the popular Mega Millions game worth at least $1 million have been claimed in West Virginia this year.

West Virginia has had its share of grand-prize winners, too, with eight tickets matching six numbers in Powerball. Among those were Jack Whittaker, a West Virginia contractor who won a nearly $315 million Powerball jackpot in 2002. He quickly fell victim to scandals, lawsuits and personal setbacks.

West Virginia’s winners have come from all walks of life and all corners of the state. Three Powerball tickets worth at least $1 million were sold for one drawing May 3, the first time that’s happened, Burnside said.

Some of the recent winners have won big more than once. Twins Pam Garretson and Penny Fitzpatrick, of Crab Orchard, who claimed $1 Powerball winnings for the May 3 drawing, shared a $100,000 Powerball prize 12 years ago.

Dennis and her group still play Powerball whenever the jackpot reaches $100 million and planned to buy more for Saturday’s drawing, whose jackpot was at $173 million. There were six tickets worth $1 million sold Saturday, but there was no jackpot winner. The prize increased to $192 million for Wednesday’s drawing.

“I don’t think it’s luck,” Dennis said. “It’s whatever God wants to give us and when he wants to do it.”

The state’s latest winner, Hartzell “John” Lancaster, a small-business owner from the Northern Panhandle community of Weirton, buys five tickets for every Powerball drawing at a convenience store.

He didn’t realize he’d won big in the May 17 game until he went to the store the next day to buy tickets for the next drawing.

“I couldn’t believe it when I found out,” Lancaster said. “I must have been as white as a ghost.”

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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