tonight on "nightline," just minutes ago, the magic numbers were drawn for one of the biggest jack pots ever. somebody out there may be over $300 million richer. tonight, from the weird to the brilliant, we have the extreme strategies for hitting the jackpot. superstar stylist. if you want to know how demi moore and min ka kelly get their signature look, well, they've got a secret weapon. fashion guru brad goreski. we are behind the skeends as he dresses jessica alba for a night on the town. and all shook up. from shaky rides to raging storms. in-flight turbulence isn't just annoying, it can also be dangerous. tonight, we fly into a storm to test the cutting edge way airlines are battling the bumpy skies. from the global resources of

abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," august 15th, 2012. >> good evening, i'm bill weir. well -- six numbered and air propelled ping-pong balls may have given someone out there over $213 million after taxes. we don't yet know if anyone won tonight's near-record powerball drawing. we do kn that few things capture the american imagination like instant wealth, despite incredibly long odds. and as abc's john donvan discovered today, that dream gives rise to some strange and unusual strategies in purr suit of the prize. >> reporter: in this year of big jackpots, it gotig again. so, that tonight, it was in the third of a billion dollar range, $320 million when they picked the numbers. >> get ready, everybody. this is powerball. >> reporter: hitting that

jackpot? 1 in 175 million. crazy way to put that in cont t context, try this. your are 28 times as likely to be killed by bees. which is why you need a system. and at this washington, d.c. liquor store, where the ticket-buying traffic was steady this after, everybody who came in and picked their own numbers came with a system. she did. >> i did certain numbers, like, favorite numbers and parts of my old address. >> reporter: so did he. >> i just pic my birthday and, because my birthday's coming up. >> reporter: and him. >> i did birthdays. >> reporter: hmm, the birthday system seemed to get a lot of use. >> my mother's birthday, one of my sibling, my dad. >> reporter: phillip jones says he's phone a few others. >> license plate. anniversaries. any combination of numbers they can think of, people will use. >> reporter: then, jones told me, there is the look around the store for random numbers system. >> yeah, 42, 46, 35.

>> reporter: hmm. picking numbers off the shelves. there's got to be some more similar matic system, right? we went in chure search of winn strategies, some well worn, some just weird, to find out what works. number one, trying to find a lucky number other than your birthday -- hit the web. there are over 5 million websites offering to cook up that core mick combination for you. just hit a button, and an instant and totally random lot toe number. but perhaps you're in the market for something more personal. that's where celebrity numerologi numerologists come in. she's been studying numbers for over two decades. she says each of us have our own life path number which we could always rely on. >> helps us get a sense of our life purpose. you take the full date of birth and reduce it to one digit. >> reporter: to determine your life path number. write down your birth date in number form. say, july 3rd, 1962.

and then add the numbers in the sum you get and then add those numbers together, and again. >> a person born on that date is a 1 life path. >> reporter: if 1 is your life path, she says, 1 should definitely be in your lot toe picks. overall, she says, those with life path 5 tend to win the lottery. >> five is the number that says, let's gamble. let's take a chance. >> reporter: perhaps you prefer something more concrete. be a math genius. remember the group portrayed in the movie "21," about a profess is 0or an his star pupils that famously look las vegas casinos. seems like another group of m.i.t. students stumbled upon a winning answer, figuring out how to crack the massachusetts lot toe game cash windfall. they figured out the game was suscepble to something called gh volume betting. according to the massachusetts

seven years, the group made a profit of at least $3.5 million thers e'ys the zhaoo. that's right. consider consulting a gorilla. a columbus zoo gorilla correctly picked last year's ncaa final four, including the winner, connecticut. our "good morning america" crew tried to get her to double down, guessing this spring's megamillions number, but it looks like her luck has officially run out. maybe the real trick is not to follow your animal instincts. >> do not play quick picks. >> reporter: and he would know. he's hit the jack ppot seven tis and says, never let the machine pick the number. above all, he says, commit to your numbers and stick with your strategy. >> you have to learn what numbers to play and how off to play them. >> reporter: so, okay, he's inspired me. but my strategy, not to precise. i'm trying the picking num from store shelves apprch. why not? and so, did.

one numb to the right, one to the left, one up high, one down low. and so on. and what that gave me when i paid my $2? 10, 11, 20, 33, 49 and 8. >> and we're going to round it out tonight with the number 51. >> reporter: versus the winning numbers -- oh, well. might need to go to m.i.t. because i'm not going to the gorilla. i'm john donvan for "nightline" in washington. >> well, the two bucks got you a chance to dream for a little while. thank you, john. and should you win, of course, you'll probably want a new wardrobe and if you really want to put it all together like jessica alba, you want to hire her secret weapon. and we'll meet him, next ♪ [ male announcer ] start with a simple idea. think. drink coffee. hatch a design. kill the design. design something totally original. do it again. that's good. kick out the committees.

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"nightline" continues from new york city with bill weir. they seem so flawless on the red carpet, but all those hollywood actresses, all that glamour, isn't just good genes and lots of cash. they also have a secret weapon, a stylist behind the scenes to make sure they're not fashion police fodder. and there's one man many in tinseltown have on speed dial. grad gor ske skoogoreski who non reality show. abc's paul la faris got a first-land look at what happens before the cameras flash. >> reporter: it is the night of fashion's super bowl. the met ball. and jessica alba is putting the finishing touches on her red carpet outfit. >> i look it better. those are really cool. >> reporter: countless accessories are being considered. >> super beautiful. >> reporter: some hits -- >> oh. >> obsessed with that. >> that's really nice. >> reporter: others, well --

>> this is going to come out and be all crusted diamonds. >> that's intense. >> reporter: but on this night, alba has a secret weapon. >> i love it. >> all hand sown little hearts. >> reporter: brad goreski, stylist to the stars. >> he's done the hard work. i get to just put it on and have fun. >> reporter: in an hour, a swarm of photographers are capturing each fashion choice brad's made for jessica, from the dress to the earrings to the handbag. and by morning, hundreds of fashion and celebrity blogs will ju scrutinize those habits. >> it's crazy, the amount of power that celebrities have. in helping to sell product. if they get photographed with a certain handbag, you can bet that the handbag will probably run everywhere and stuff will sell out. i've had it happen to me where i've selected jewelry for a client and had somebody call me and be like, we actually sold

four of the pieces, i'm like, who guys, like, $175,000 necklace? >> reporter: much like a hollywood agent or manager, a stylist can change the course of a star's career. as joe z, creator director of "el" magazine, see s today. >> it helps the celebrities shape their dislikes or likes. if you see someone in a specific pair of jeans, that didn't happen by accident. the reality is, there are cameras wherever and the internet really changed the game. >> reporter: mila kunis was transform eed to a red carpet darling who snagged a dior endorsement deal, thanks in large part to her stylist. when lady gaga beeched up her ed image and becam an international fashion icon, her sty stylist was the wizard behind the curtain.

and angelina's famous protruding leg? stylist jennifer raid picked out the precarious hem line it emerged from. >> i can guarantee you that any time there's a red carpet, especially big marquee events like the oscars, the met, the grammys, the 'em memmys, every celebrity has consulted a stylist. it isn't just putting on a dress and liking it, it's, who has worn it previously? i miss those cher moments so bad. you have the occasional cook like helena bonham carter. but i think 99.7% of us are acting safe. >> reporter: brad's power as a stylist has made him a star in his own right. he has his own reality show on bravo and is currently touring the country to promote his book, "born to be brad." >> big fan. >> thank you so much. >> reporter: celebs ever feel

threatened bill your celebrity? >> no, because i'm a dork. >> reporter: he isn't just alba's secret weapon. he's working with minka kelly, demi moore and rashida jones. and he's there in their most vulnerable doe membership. their dressing room. >> i want my clients torust me. they are naked in front of you. they are naked in front of you when they are skinny or bloated off of a plane. they are pregnant in front of you. >> reporter: you're part stylist and part shrink. >> i would more pitch myself as best girlfriend/gay best friend. >> reporter: stylists are everywhere these days. there are books devoted to their craft and reality competitions seeking the industry's next big. >> go, go, go. >> reporte >> you can do anything. >> reporter: the biggest superstartylist of them all, brad's old boss, rachel zoe. >> oh, god, oh, god, ohh egod.

>> reporter: her t now shooting its fifth season. she has a qvc line and a high fashion label of her own. th price tag for her services? a reported $10,000 a y.>> no. >> he's reaching major fashion heights of his own while occasionally being brought down to size by those pesky fashion police at "us weekly." >> i've been on it a couple of times. i went to visit my grandmother in the nursing home and on her wall, she had a photo of me on the worst dressed. grandma, you do realize that picture you have is them saying i look terrible, right? she's look, i think you look cute. >> reporter: back in new york, it wasn't just grandmartha approved of his work on alba. >> it was my favorite moment ever. looks like a shot from "vogue" from the late 1970s. it's exactly the moment we were going for. >> reporter: it was a grand slam. >> kind of, yeah. yeah.

it was a greatnight. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm ula faris in new york. >> thank, paula. coming up next, from a little jolt to an in-flight roller coroll er turbulence. could this new technology put a stop to shaky skies? i've been coloring liz's hair for years. but lately she's been coming in with less gray than usual. what's she up to? [ female announcer ] root touch-up by nice'n easy has the most shade choices, designed to match even salon color in just 10 minutes.

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worse than a crying baby, worse than lost luggage. extreme turbulence is tough to beat when it comes to air travel woes. because not only does it wear on your nerves, it can be dangerous for passengers and the plane. but there's a new way that airlines are working to end the in-flight shakes. and abc's jim avila literally takes it for a spin. >> reporter: most flights try to avoid the bumps. today on this vintage airliner, a 1952 convair turboprop, the pilots instructions are to look for all the storms and turbulence he can find. >> that's the storm system we're looking for. >> reporter: we're over north carolina, storm chasing, to test and show off a new radar system designed to avoid this -- [ screaming ] >> reporter: it happens more than 70,000 times a year. pilot reported moderate to

severe turbulence. unstable air cau. three-fourths of weather related accidents caused by unstable air. >> one of them got thrown up in the air, he flew and landed on the hallway. >> reporter: rough weather rarely brings down a plane, but it injured more passengers than you think. and causes a half billion dollars in damage and delays every year. this turbulence animation shows how the unbelted can achieve weightlessness. something i nearly experienced on this flight. this is why the flight attendants are always pestering you to keep your seatbelts on. in-flight turbulence causes more injuries in the air than anything else. and airlines don't like it, either. it's expensive, costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars per incident. our wild ride had just gun. we got one. i'm going to sit down. time to examine the radar breakthrough. for the first time, a new 3d

radar installed in business and soon fleets of commercial jets. southwest already has it in 19 pla planes. will allow pilots to spot the bumps from more than 60 miles away. >> directly facing this, i know that there's hail, there's lightning. >> reporter: we are in the storm now. clouds billowing, cabin shaking, to demonstrate the new radar screen that actually identifies lightning cells and hail, flashing bright icons pilots cannot mess. >> what it gives me is the information to make a better decision sooner. >> reporter: chief pie lot marcus johnson can look at his screen and not just see vague heavy weather colors -- >> it allows me to concentrate on decides where to go, to have the smoothest, safest ride. >> reporter: in the old radar system, pilots had to manually scan to find the top of the storm clouds. one reason so many flights run into bumps. [ screaming ] >> reporter: honeywell says its analysis of weather-related

incidents, where the plane has been damaged by either hail or lightning, shows that in two-thirds of the cases, the pilot may have misread the radar. >> areas that i should avoid are shown to me. >> reporter: and while lightning may frightening passengers most. >> it's not like it's going to blow the wing off. it's not going to set the airplane on fire, that sort of thing. but it can blow a hole through structure in the airplane and plays havoc with the electronics. >> reporter: a hailstorm is what really causes the damage. look at this jet nose cone. >> it can tear right through it. >> reporter: best to avoid that. here's to smoother flights. i'm going to sit down. jim avila, abc news, over wilmington, north carolina. >> buckle up, jim. and thank you. and thank you for watching abc news. we hope you check in on "good morning america." working while we rest. we're always online at abcnews.com. jimmy kimmel is next. have a good night.