(HL-예술/취미/종교) $450 Million Powerball Prize Causes Frenzy

[Write 2 Speak]

Are you feeling lucky? “The hope keeps you going. And someone’s gotta win.” News spread early in the week that the Powerball lottery – a game of chance played in all but six U.S. states – would top $450 million before the drawing late Wednesday night. If there is a last-minute surge in buying the $2 tickets, the final jackpot could become one of Powerball’s largest of all time. Last year, the pot of money, or jackpot, reached $564 million. Winners bought tickets in Puerto Rico, North Carolina and Texas. The last Powerball winner was selected in November. The jackpot has increased since there was not a winner. The largest Powerball prize happened in 2013 when a woman from Florida won $590 million.
* keep sb going = (기다리는 것을 얻게 될 때까지) ~가 견디게 하다/ a game of chance = 기술보다 운에 좌우되는 게임/ drawing = 뽑기, 추첨/ last-minute = 막바지의, 마지막 순간의/ surge = 밀려듦; 급증, 급등; 치밀어 오름/ jackpot = 거액의 상금, 대박/ of all time = 역대[지금껏]/ pot of money = 많은 돈    

The Associated Press news agency reports the largest U.S. lottery jackpot was won in a Mega Millions game in 2012. It was $656 million. Before you get too excited, think of this. The odds of winning are one-in-292 million. Those odds are calculated from all possible combinations using the numbers one through 69. An additional bonus number is called the “powerball” which can be one through 26. A mathematician runs the website durangobill.com. He provides a breakdown of how to calculate the odds. If more tickets are sold, the only thing that changes is that the odds of multiple jackpot winners increases slightly.
* the odds(pl) = (어떤 일이 있을) 공산[가능성]/ calculate = 계산하다, 산출하다/ combination = 부호[번호]/ mathematician = 수학자/ breakdown = 내역/ multiple = 많은, 다수[복수]의

$450 Million Powerball Prize Causes Frenzy - WTS.mp3