Powerball as last resort to avert looming New Orleans bankruptcy

New- Orleans (October 19, 2005) –In a desperate effort to resolve the worsening city financial crisis, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has bought 10,000 Powerball lottery tickets, hoping to win the record $ 340 million jackpot in tonight drawing. Like President Bush, “I will do whatever it takes” to alleviate the financial burden to the city, Mayor Nagin said. The Powerball game is played in 27 states, including Louisiana, plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. Undeterred by the extremely unfavorable odds of winning the jackpot, estimated at one in 146 million, Mayor Nagin has chosen the following numbers for tonight drawing: the first five numbers 28 – 29 – 08 –20 - 05 were based on the date when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and the selected Powerball number was 49, the number of school buses which stayed unused and flooded in the City Hall parking lot during the hurricane.