To those who are prone to succumb to the evil temptation to participate in the Powerball or Mega Million lotteries in Tennessee, Georgia, and other states this article is dedicated.
For years non-progressive (not liberal) legislators in the Tennessee General Assembly fought off the sinful enactment of removing the archaic Tennessee prohibition banning a lottery until they realized that other states were collecting large sums of money to instill in our underfunded educational system.
Unfortunately, the origin of the term “jackpot” comes from “gambling” which involves a large amount of money won through previously undesirable games of chance.
Excuse my limited knowledge but supporting the word comes from a game of draw poker (definition available on Wikipedia) where bets are raised after each hand dealt to the players.
When the additional amounts are increased from the original ante a considerable amount of money becomes – the “jackpot” which is named after the initial requirement that only a player who was dealt at least a pair of jack face cards can make the first bet.
When two jacks are finally dealt, and a player opens the betting the winner will take the jackpot.
For additional instruction contact either a Las Vegas website or Gamblers Anonymous!
(Excerpts from “The Little Book of Answers” – Author – Doug Lennox – (2003) – MJF Books – New York, NY 1001.)