State man takes home $473,671

By Tony Thornton and Sheila K. Stogsdill

Published: February 23, 2006

Jeffery Sparks' first crack at Powerball earned him $667,142.

The Ardmore man showed up Tuesday afternoon at the state lottery headquarters in Oklahoma City with his winning Powerball ticket and collected the biggest prize in the Oklahoma lottery's brief history.

Sparks' numbers matched those on five white balls drawn Saturday night, a 1-in-3.5 million longshot. He was one correct number short of splitting the record $365 million jackpot won by eight workers at a Nebraska meat processing plant.

"I just figured I was wasting my money, but thought I would give it a try," Sparks said, noting it was the first time he ever played the lottery.

He said he may try to play again if the jackpot gets big enough. "I'm still going to work, but it will make retirement come a little quicker," said Sparks, an AT&T employee.

He doesn't have any immediate plans for the windfall.

After the standard 29 percent reduction for taxes, Sparks took home $473,671.

He bought the winning $5 ticket at Lasley's One Stop, an Ardmore convenience store. Owner Jim Lasley won't get a piece of that prize -- not unless Sparks decides to tip him.

Lasley's not concerned, saying he was just happy to see a big winner come from his store.

Ticket commission
Some store owners are complaining that Oklahoma doesn't offer a commission to stores that sell winning tickets on big-prize games.

Jackie Hines, who owns the J&J Stop and Go store in Lindsay said she was promised 0.75 percent of prizes from winning tickets she sold.

Her store recently sold a Powerball ticket that won $50,000.

"I am not upset -- it was more of a shock," said Hines, referring to not getting a percentage of the proceeds.

Hines wants to know why Oklahoma is different from states that pay a bonus to stores that sell winning tickets.

Oklahoma's lottery retailers receive 6 percent of their ticket sales and 0.75 percent of winning tickets they redeem. By law, however, any prize over $600 must be redeemed at the state Lottery Commission.

For instance, if a store sells $1,000 in tickets in one day and pays prizes totaling $500, it would clear $63.75.

Those percentages were negotiated, said Vance McSpadden, executive director of the Oklahoma Petroleum Marketers Association.

While some store owners wanted bonuses paid for selling winning Powerball tickets, McSpadden said his members were more concerned about getting the top percentage from their lottery sales.

A survey of other states shows an array of commissions and bonuses used to entice retailers.

Some pay lower sales commissions than Oklahoma but pay a higher percentage to stores that redeem prizes.

Others pay a percentage or a set cash bonus to stores that sell a winning jackpot ticket in a big-prize game like Powerball.

Beverly Hughes, the Oklahoma lottery's sales and marketing director, said she occasionally gets complaints from retailers like Hines.

"One of the things I point out is that there are 57,000 retailers nationwide selling Powerball. The odds in someone buying the jackpot ticket are 1 in 165 million.

"So your chances of qualifying for a jackpot bonus are minimal compared," Hughes said.

One good thing for Hines: Since selling the winning ticket, her lottery sales have tripled, she said.

Contributing: The Associated Press