'Curious' Why Locals Never Win National Jackpots
AP
Ever wonder why those Mega Millions lottery winners always seem to be from the Midwest or somewhere other than here?
Ed from Pembroke was curious why there hasn't been a Mega Millions winner from Massachusetts in the last five years.
"I know that the lottery is a game of chance," he writes, "but it appears that the chances of winning in Massachusetts are slim to none."
In fact, the last Bay Stater to win Mega Millions was in 2004 - Geraldine Williams from Lowell.
"I couldn't believe it. I was stunned," she told WBZ.
She won a $294 million jackpot.
At the store where she bought the ticket, Powers Wine, clerk Jim Lucia remembers it well.
"It was a madhouse," he says.
It set off a flurry of ticket sales for the 12-state game.
Big banners announcing the win are still plastered across the walls half a decade later.
When asked if Massachusetts is due for another winner, he answered "We're overdue!"
Lottery officials tell us the odds of winning are the same for every ticket no matter where it is purchased -- about one in 176 million.
They also say if there's a winner, the chances that winner is from Massachusetts are about 10 percent.
Powers Wine customer Patty Murray isn't holding her breath.
"It's always someone who's 90-years old. They live on a farm in Ohio and they're sitting on their porch and they've won. It's not me!"
Mega Millions numbers are drawn every Tuesday and Friday night.
If you do the math for Massachusetts residents, that works out to 510 consecutive drawings without a jackpot win, ever since Williams won.
Visit our lottery page to find out the hot, cold, and overdue numbers.
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