I play a lot and win occassionally. Mass overall payout is still tops in the country but there are tickets in other states that have better odds to win mid-level prizes such as $500. I have a fair amount of "stategies" that have worked throughout the years but still have not been able to happen upon that life-changing ticket. Within the past 6 months there have been two $1MILLION tickets sold in my town in stores that I frequent. Both were on the same $10 ticket.
I did hit 10K a coupla years ago on a $5 ticket and once hit a top prize of 5K on a $1 ticket (talk about a needle in a haystack!)
So far this year it has been a few $150 hits, several $100's and one $500 on the newest $5 ticket.
When I do travel around the state I like picking up tickets at random Mom/Pop stores. To answer your last question, yes, people who win generally are spending more to get those wins. There are always exceptions though.
Good Luck in the quest...