Big wins for businesses that sell lotto tickets

Summary

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Marketplace Morning Report: "Big Wins for Businesses That Sell Lotto Tickets"

Date: September 8, 2025
Host: David Brancaccio
Key Reporters: Gene McKenzie, Carla Javier, Nancy Marshall Genzer

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Episode Overview

This episode delivers a succinct, fact-packed roundup of the latest business and economic news, highlighting:

• The aftermath of a major immigration raid at a foreign-owned Georgia construction project and its implications for U.S. business and international relations
• The economic ripple effects of a record-breaking Powerball jackpot for retailers and consumers
• Personal stories of federal workers affected by job loss, offering a ground-level view of unemployment’s consequences in the current U.S. political climate

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Immigration Raid at the Georgia Car Battery Plant (00:31–01:42)

• Background:
  After a sweeping U.S. government immigration raid at a car battery plant near Savannah, Georgia (a Hyundai-LG joint venture), hundreds of South Korean workers were detained.

• Diplomatic Response:
  Gene McKenzie (BBC, Seoul) reports ongoing efforts by the South Korean government to arrange the workers’ voluntary return via chartered flight, still negotiating details.

  • "South Korea's foreign minister is trying to ensure they'll be returned voluntarily rather than deported." (01:22, Gene McKenzie)

• Economic Tension:
  The raid followed recent commitments by South Korea to invest billions in the U.S. manufacturing sector, raising questions about balancing stringent immigration enforcement and the desire for foreign investment.

  • David Brancaccio sums up the challenge:

    "President Trump last night was working to thread the needle of being tough on immigration while at the same time attracting foreign business." (01:42)

• Presidential Message:
  Brancaccio quotes President Trump:

  “Your investments are welcome and we encourage you to legally bring your very smart people with great technical talent...we will make it quickly and legally possible for you.” (01:50)

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2. Powerball Jackpot: The Lotto Business Boom (01:42–03:16)

• The Jackpot:
  Two winners are sharing the $1.787 billion Powerball prize—tickets sold in Fredericksburg, Texas, and Missouri.

• Retailer Perspective:
  Carla Javier’s reporting focuses on how such massive jackpots dramatically benefit convenience stores:

  • Jeff Leonard (National Association of Convenience Stores):

    "When you go into a convenience store to buy a ticket, the business makes about 5 to 6 cents per dollar and potentially earns your loyalty." (02:21)

    "When the Jackpot hits a Billion Traffic spikes." (02:40)

    "It showcases the store to people who haven't been inside before." (02:43)

  • Lottery customers typically spend about 50% more than non-lottery customers, boosting ancillary sales.

• Online Growth:
  Online lottery sales are surging, greatly outpacing previous billion-dollar jackpots.

• Societal Insight:
  Jonathan D. Cohen, gambling expert, notes that spikes in lottery sales reflect broader discontent and economic insecurity.

  • "Spikes in sales are basically a barometer of people feeling that they're stuck in their jobs or that they don't have opportunity in the economy or that they're economically insecure." (03:00, paraphrased by Odoo announcer for Cohen)

• Relatable Moment:
  Both Cohen and Leonard admit to joining the fray—buying tickets during the jackpot boom.

• Host Commentary:
  David Brancaccio adds a pragmatic note:

  "Economists I've talked to say buying a single lottery ticket may be worth the money in entertainment value. And mathematicians often point out that buying more than one lottery ticket for the same drawing increases your chances of winning by not zero, but close to it." (03:16)

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3. The Human Cost of Federal Worker Layoffs (03:16–07:04)

• Background:
  Six months into mass federal layoffs under the Trump administration, many affected workers are hitting the end of their severance and unemployment benefits.

• Personal Story:
  Nancy Marshall Genzer follows Amy Uccello, a former USAID employee, through her new weekly ritual—waiting in line at a D.C. food bank:

  • Uccello, on her first time in line:

    "I was hoping no one would drive by, that I would know." (04:24)

  • Since January, both Amy and her husband Christopher lost their jobs. With a young child at home, they face mounting financial stress.

• Hardship Illustrated:

  • Uccello’s encounter with a $100 parking ticket as she leaves the food bank becomes a symbolic "last straw:"

    "That's, that's, that's gonna cut." (05:03, Amy Uccello; voice cracking)

  • Amy juggles job hunting, gig work (like cleaning Airbnbs), and the strain is showing:

    "Her hair is starting to fall out. She finds a bunch in the drain after a shower." (05:51, Nancy Marshall Genzer)

  • Broader impact—some former colleagues have lost homes; one committed suicide.

  • Expert Insight:
    Tahara Probst, WSU psychology professor, frames job loss as major trauma:

    "It ranks right up there alongside things like the loss of a loved one, the dissolution of one's marriage, experiencing a major health crisis. It [is] incredibly stressful." (06:11, Tahara Probst)

• Adapting (or Not):
  Amy’s expertise is in a shrinking field. She’s now considering whether to change careers, return to pre-grad school service work, or even move abroad for work.

• Family Decision Point:
  Christopher Feddersen, her husband, considers leaving the U.S.:

  “If I'm to do the work ... that work is probably not in the United States anymore. That probably means going overseas.” (06:41, Christopher Feddersen)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “When the Jackpot hits a Billion Traffic spikes.” — Jeff Leonard (02:40)
• “Spikes in sales are basically a barometer of people feeling that they're stuck in their jobs or that they don't have opportunity in the economy...” — (paraphrased for Jonathan D. Cohen, 03:00)
• “That's, that's, that's gonna cut.” — Amy Uccello, holding the parking ticket (05:03)
• “It ranks right up there alongside things like the loss of a loved one... It [is] incredibly stressful.” — Prof. Tahara Probst, on job loss (06:11)
• “That work is probably not in the United States anymore. That probably means going overseas.” — Christopher Feddersen (06:41)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:31: Immigration raid and foreign investment implications
• 01:10: South Korea's diplomatic negotiations
• 01:42: Presidential response on immigration and investment
• 01:42–03:16: Lottery jackpot windfall for businesses and economy
• 03:16–07:04: Federal layoffs, personal story of Amy Uccello, psychological toll
• 07:04: Episode close/transition

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Tone & Context

The tone is brisk, informative, empathetic, and grounded in real economic and personal impacts. The episode uses storytelling and expert insights to humanize headline events, blending macroeconomic implications with ground-level experiences.

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Transcript

[Odoo Sponsor Announcer]

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[David Brancaccio]

President works to attract more foreign investment after last week's big immigration raid on a foreign owned construction project in Georgia I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. The US Government plans to target more businesses for immigration enforcement after a raid on a construction project for a massive car battery plant in Georgia last week led to the arrests of hundreds of South Korean workers. The government in Seoul says a deal has now been reached to fly detained workers home. The factory, adjacent to a new Hyundai electric car factory near Savannah, is a joint operation between Hyundai and LG. The BBC's Gene McKenzie reports from Seoul.

[Gene McKenzie]

The South Korean government has been working all weekend to get these workers released. Last night it reached a deal with the US to bring them home on a chartered flight, but the exact details of how and when the workers will be returned still need to be finalized. South Korea's foreign minister is trying to ensure they'll be returned voluntarily rather than deport it. The raid at Hyundai site took place just two weeks after South Korea agreed to invest billions of dollars in the US to help it produce the likes of car batteries.

[David Brancaccio]

President Trump last night was working to thread the needle of being tough on immigration while at the same time attracting foreign business. Posting your investments are welcome and we encourage you to legally bring your very smart people with great technical talent to build world class products and we will make it quickly and legally possible for you. Lottery officials say two people will share the $1.787 billion Powerball jackpot. One bought the ticket in a convenience store in Fredericksburg, Texas. The other, somewhere in Missouri is all we know so far. For the businesses that sell tickets, there can also be wins. Marketplace's Carla Javier reports.

[Jeff Leonard]

When you go into a convenience store to buy a ticket, the business makes about 5 to 6 cents per dollar and potentially earns your loyalty. Jeff Leonard is with the national association of Convenience Stores.

[Odoo Sponsor Announcer]

When somebody is a lottery customer, they tend to buy about 50% more than the non lottery customer, leonard says.

[Jeff Leonard]

When the Jackpot hits a Billion Traffic spikes.

[Odoo Sponsor Announcer]

It showcases the store to people who haven't been inside before.

[Jeff Leonard]

But online lottery retailers are growing. Jackpot.com reports it's doing five to 10 times the volume of the last billion dollar prize. Jonathan D. Cohen, who's written extensively about gambling, says spikes in sales are basically.

[Odoo Sponsor Announcer]

A barometer of people feeling that they're stuck in their jobs or that they don't have opportunity in the economy or that they're economically insecure.

[Jeff Leonard]

Cohen says he bought a ticket this time around, and so did Jeff Leonard at a convenience store. I'm Carla Javier from Marketplace.

[David Brancaccio]

Economists I've talked to say buying a single lottery ticket may be worth the money in entertainment value. And mathematicians often point out that buying more than one lottery ticket for the same drawing increases your chances of winning by not zero, but close to it. It's been about six months since the Trump administration started firing federal workers. Some of the first to go may have burned through severance pay if offered. And if they haven't found new work, the end Unemployment benefits looms. Some are turning to food banks and health care for low income people. Medicaid Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer spent some time with one family.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

It's about 9:30 on a sticky morning in downtown D.C. but temperatures are already headed toward the 90s. Amy Uccello is standing near the back of a line stretching to the end of the block, waiting for a chance to get some fresh produce at a food bank.

[Amy Uccello]

The first time I was in this line, I was hoping no one would drive by, that I would know.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

But she's used to it now. Uchello's been coming here every Friday since the end of January, when she was laid off from her job at usaid. Shortly after that, her husband lost his position at a non profit working with the agency. All right, the line is moving inside. There are carrots, cabbage, greens and melons. Utillo holds her bag open.

[Amy Uccello]

Thank you very much. You can just drop.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

As we head to the car, Uchello sees something floating, fluttering on her windshield. A parking ticket.

[Amy Uccello]

$100.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Her eyes fill with tears.

[Amy Uccello]

That's, that's, that's gonna cut.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Uchella thought she'd be in and out of the food bank before parking restrictions kicked in. She ignored a new nagging thought. Don't take any chances. That could cost money.

[Amy Uccello]

It's sort of an ever present thought on your mind. And it should have been a thought when I parked.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Well, it is what it is, she says. When Uchella gets home, her husband Christopher Feddersen and their year old daughter are waiting. After she unpacks the groceries and the baby is fed, Uchello usually turns to the task of job hunting. She figures she sends out about 10 applications a month while taking on as many side hustles that she can manage, including cleaning a friend's Airbnb.

[Amy Uccello]

She asked me if I knew anyone who could clean it and I said yeah, me.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Behind Uchello's laughter, there's a lot of stress. Her hair is starting to fall out. She finds a bunch in the drain after a shower. She worries about former colleagues. Some have lost their homes. One committed suicide. Job loss is a form of trauma, says Washington State University psychology professor Tahara Probst.

[Amy Uccello]

It ranks right up there alongside things like the loss of a loved one, the dissolution of one's marriage, experiencing a major health crisis. It incredibly stressful.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Adding to the stress, Uchello's expertise is in a field that's rapidly shrinking. Now she's at a crossroads. Does she keep looking for work in her field, change careers, or even go back to what she did before grad school? Waiting tables, holding their baby? Her husband, Christopher Feddersen, talks about a more drastic option.

[Christopher Feddersen]

I think if I'm to do the work that I've been that my companies have invested skills in me for and that I've become an expert in, that work is probably not in the United States anymore. That probably means going overseas.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

They don't have long to ponder their next move. Their unemployment benefits just ran out. I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace, and.

[David Brancaccio]

In Los Angeles, I'm David Brancaccio. Marketplace Morning Report from APM American Public Media.

[Kyle Rysdal]

Hey everybody. I'm Kyle Rysdal, the host of Marketplace. I'm going to join Amy Scott on September 9th. She's the host of How We Survive and and also science writer Elizabeth Kolber. For a conversation about the economic consequences of our climate crisis. We're going to break down how the acceleration of climate change is going to disrupt jobs and entire industries, even our daily lives. But it's not all doom and gloom. We're also going to dive into the solutions that are giving us hope right now. Thanks so much to Odoo for sponsoring this free webinar and you can sign up [e-mail] climate.