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<p>There still seemed to be some holiday spirit left at the Anthracite Newstand on Saturday, as customers made their way to the counter to purchase Powerball lottery tickets for a chance to win $900 million.</p><p>Customers said the nearly billion dollar prize would certainly change their lives. Many of them mentioned new homes, student loan payments and extended vacations.</p><p>Without exception, however, they also said they would give generously to charities, help friends and bring smiles to the faces of the truly needy.</p><p>Lyell Thorne of West Wyoming purchased two tickets and said if he won, he would try to help those less fortunate.</p><p>&#8220;It would be too much money to spend on yourself,&#8221; he said. &#8220;No one could spend that much money.&#8221;</p><p>According to the Associated Press, the Powerball jackpot has grown from its $40 million starting point on Nov. 4 as no one has won the jackpot. The $900 million jackpot is a record for a North American lottery.</p><p>To win, a person has to match the numbers on five white balls and the one red Powerball.</p><p>Kathy Dougherty, who was visiting family in Kingston, waited in line for a ticket, hoping to win enough to pay bills, pay off her children&#8217;s student loans and donate to charities.</p><p>Dougherty, who said she rarely plays the lottery, would be heading to Florida should her numbers come up.</p><p>&#8220;My husband, Bill, and I lived there for a long time,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And that would be our dream.&#8221;</p><p>Should she win the entire amount, purchasing a dream home in Florida would not be a problem.</p><p>The Anthracite Newstand&#8217;s Samantha Bovolick said lottery business was steady all day, with many customers who had not played the lottery before.</p><p>Playing the lottery, Bovolick said, is not as easy as it seems.</p><p>&#8220;Many of our customers don&#8217;t understand what a multiplier is or the difference between a $2 and a $3 ticket,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We help them.&#8221;</p><p>Bovolick herself also took a chance on the Powerball and said, should she win, she already had plans for the proceeds.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m getting married in May,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And it would be put to good use.&#8221;</p><p>Asked if winning would change her honeymoon destination, she said, &#8220;We wouldn&#8217;t go just to one place. We&#8217;d do an extended trip, maybe a cruise.&#8221;</p><p>Should she win, however, she would continue to teach special education at Wyoming Valley West&#8217;s Schuyler Elementary.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s what I love to do,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Money wouldn&#8217;t change that.&#8221;</p><p>Breandan Angley of Forty Fort was purchasing a ticket with little hopes of winning</p><p>If he did win, however, Angley said he would purchase houses all across the country.</p><p>&#8220;South, North, East, West. It would give me opportunity to travel,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Margaret Fenner of Plymouth made a special trip to the store to purchase a ticket.</p><p>&#8220;I would use it for my five kids,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Jan Muth of Plymouth said he would purchase an animal shelter.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;d also buy a real house and a real car,&#8221; said Muth. &#8220;I mean you got to do stuff for yourself too.&#8221;</p><p>As the lines thinned, many customers, ticket in hand, took opportunity to think about what they might do if they won the nearly billion dollars.</p><p>One particularly thoughtful ticket holder, an instructor at an area college who asked not be be identified, said he would take a whole day to hand out cashier&#8217;s checks to both the deserving and the not-so-deserving.</p><p>&#8220;My wife said to me, you know if you won, you would give it all away,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Yes, I would, and it would be a pleasure.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Samantha Bovolick, employee of Anthracite Newstand, says that people from work come in on their lunch hour and buy tickets with their co-workers, which would increase their chance of winning. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011016Powerball2-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Samantha Bovolick, employee of Anthracite Newstand, says that people from work come in on their lunch hour and buy tickets with their co-workers, which would increase their chance of winning. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011016Powerball1-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Matt Yedesko, 23, of Pittston fills out a Powerball ticket at Anthracite Newstand in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Saturday in hopes to win the $ 900 million dollar jackpot . </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011016Powerball1-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Matt Yedesko, 23, of Pittston fills out a Powerball ticket at Anthracite Newstand in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Saturday in hopes to win the $ 900 million dollar jackpot . </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Residents snap up tickets hoping for big payday</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>How much do you get?</strong></p><p>So you have the winning numbers and are just waiting for your $900 million check.</p><p>While you will be getting a large sum of money, you won&#8217;t be getting quite the full jackpot prize, thanks to federal and state taxes.</p><p>Here&#8217;s what you can expect to collect for a $900 million jackpot, according to the lottery website usamega.com:</p><p>&#8226; If you elect to take your winnings spread out over 30 years, you can expect yearly payments of $21.3 million for a total of $639 million after state and federal taxes.</p><p>&#8226; If you take the $558 million cash payout, you can expect to collect $418.5 million.</p><p>Ticket holders have a 1 in 292.2 million chance of winning.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Area residents purchase ticket as Powerball soars to $900 million