For Frank Lima his dream is still alive. In his dream, there are five white-numbered balls and one red-numbered ball. There’s a man drawing the balls from a tumbler. And even when the dream always ends the same, with Lima comes up short on that combination of numbers; it is certainly not about to stop now. Lottery winning numbers

So, even if chasing his dream costs another buck, for him, “Somebody’s gotta win this thing, might as well be this guy.”
The price to buy a $1 Powerball ticket is about to double. State lottery

Lima, a Stevens Street resident, was one of many throw down $1 for an opportunity at winning the Powerball jackpot. But since there were no winners that day, the prize will swell next time it is played, when a new winning combination is announced.

Lima was back again for another $1 ticket next time. Standing on Wood Street outside of Powers Wine and Liquor, Lima held a fresh one in his hand.

He’s got a 1 in 195.25 million chance of winning the grand prize. “It’s a chance. You just never know”, he said.
Ever since its launch in 1992, a Powerball ticket has cost $1 and now for its 20th birthday, the price was raised starting on Jan. 15 to $2.

Outside Kappy’s Liquors in Fitchburg, Steve Marley said he’d continue to occasionally play despite the price increase.

“I’d only pick up a ticket once in a while anyway,” the Lunenburg resident said. “An extra dollar isn’t a big deal if it’s something I’m not doing every day.”

So, will the cost increase make people like Lima less likely to take a chance on winning a fortune? Not at all, said Eva Ali, a cashier at Powers Wine and Liquor.

And basically, the reason is that, while the cost of a ticket will go up, also the odds of winning a prize will also rise.

“The customer will have more chances,” she said. “The starting jackpot will also be bigger.”

According to Powerball’s website, starting Jan 15th, the jackpot will start at $40 million.

“Having a bigger jackpot will probably keep people buying tickets,” Kevin Johnson of Lunenburg said outside of the Hess gas station on Main Street in Fitchburg. “It justifies the increase in price. Knowing you could win more makes it easier to deal with.”

Clyde Barrow, a gambling expert at the UMass Darmouth, said the larger jackpots will mean more players will want to play, even if a ticket will now cost $2.

“As prizes escalate more people tend to enter the game,” he said. “The big draw will be the size of the jackpot.”

So, people take the risk of paying more to win more. Makes sense, especially if, like Frank Lima, your dream every night involves five white-numbered balls and one red-numbered ball that match your ticket and literally, turn your life upside down in seconds.

It seems, for some people, the price does not kill the dream after all.