Lottery Players Flock to ‘Lucky Corridor' in Va. to Buy Tickets

People are flocking to a “lucky corridor” in Herndon, Virginia, where playing the lottery has paid off for customers at three different stores.

Glinda Salgado owns Elden’s Market and Deli. In March 2014, reporters started calling after her store sold a $3 million winning ticket. Owners of stores that sell winning tickets get a reward.

“They told me someone had won, and I was just excited about the $10,000 commission,” she told News4.

But Salgado got lucky twice: She had bought the winning ticket.

“I didn’t believe it until I saw the number in my bank account,” she said.

Salgado’s store was only one that sold winning tickets in the area. A Giant Foods only two-tenths of of a mile from Elden’s Market and Deli sold a $170 million winning ticket. Just this month, someone won $50,000 from a lottery ticket purchased at a Herndon 7-Eleven, according to Herndon Patch.

The concentration of luck is unlikely, and some financial advisers think the lottery is not an effective use of money.

Steve Pillof, George Mason University finance professor, did the math for News4.

“Suppose you have someone who spends $10 a week, that’s $500 a year," he said. "So over 10 years that’s $5,000 if it’s invested maybe it turns into $6,000.”

The chances of winning the lottery are low. Powerball players face very slim odds: One in 292.2 million. But if you are that one, Pillof suggests getting finance help from a professional.

“And not just a financial ad visor, a financial advising team," he said. "An accountant, get a lawyer, make sure they’re independent of each other.”

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