ALVA Woodpeckers build home in woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
Tony Magpantay / MGN ‘Tis the season to start dreaming: Prizes for the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries have climbed past $300 million, with drawings set for Friday and Saturday. But don’t quit your day job just yet. The odds of winning one of the jackpots is roughly one in 259 million for Mega Millions and one in 292 million for Powerball. And the chances of winning both, for those of you thinking really big? Roughly one in 75 quadrillion — that’s 15 zeros — according to data scientists at Allstate. To understand how unlikely those odds are, it’s worth comparing them to the probability of other unlikely events. Americans are much more likely to get struck by lightning (odds of one in 13,500) or to die in a car accident (one in 645). While the old lottery campaign “You’ve got to be in it to win it” holds true, the real value in buying a ticket may simply be to enjoy the dream of winning. The Powerball website announced Thursday that no winning tickets had been sold. The estimated top prize for the next drawing on Saturday night is $384 million, or a cash prize of $242.9 million. The estimated Mega Millions jackpot is $306 million (or a cash option of $191 million), with the next drawing set for Friday at 11 p.m. Eastern time. Tickets cost $2. Sales time cut-offs vary by state but are usually one to two hours before the drawing. The average American spends about $200 a year on lottery tickets, though residents of some states spend far more. According to a study by LendEDU, the average Massachusetts resident spends $735 annually on lottery tickets. Rhode Islanders plop down $514 a year. And if you live in Delaware or New York, you’re likely spending about $400 a year, or $33 per month (see map below). The odds of winning “scratchers” — those little instant winning tickets that you can buy for prices ranging from $1 to $50 — are better, but it’s still no way to get rich. CBS News LendEDU experimented with determining “a return on investment” with scratchers by buying $1,000 worth of tickets. The good news: The site won with 68 of the 314 tickets — indicating that you have a near 22 percent chance of a positive return with lottery scratchers. And, in fact, a big win ($500) on a $20 ticket helped the lending site recover the bulk of its investment. The bad news: Like most players, LendEDU lost money in the end, recovering just $974 of its $1,000. That amounts to an average return on investment of -2.6 percent. So who does make out in lottery sales? Convenience stores. Big jackpots tend to bring customers into gas stations and convenience stores, said Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives at the National Association of Convenience Stores. Its members sell about two-thirds of all lottery tickets in the U.S. The giant Powerball and Mega Million jackpots are feeding on each other, with customers coming into stores to buy a ticket for one and noticing the other jackpot, he said. “The key thing for awareness is really, once you go into the store to buy one, there’s that screen that shows that there’s another big jackpot,” Lenard said. “It’s that digital signage inside the store that’s driving that double interest.” Convenience stores make about a dime on a $2 ticket, or about 5 percent to 6 percent on each dollar spent. Winning stores also earn a commission, although the amount varies by state. Following are the odds of winning the jackpots, as calculated by Allstate, along with the chances of other unlikely events: Being a victim of identity theft by the age of 40: 1 in 6 Getting bitten by a dog while out for a jog: 1 in 133 Getting a hole in one on your birthday: 1 in 25,000 Having all of the above happen to one person: 1 in 19,900,000 Winning Powerball: 1 in 292,201,338 Winning Mega Millions: 1 in 258,890,850 Winning both Powerball and Mega Millions: 1 in 75,648,252,765,957,300