History:
| Powerball is an American lottery game sold through lotteries as a shared jackpot pool game. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), a non-profit association formed by an agreement with member lotteries. Powerball is a jackpot game whose advertised (annuity) grand prize starts at $20 million and can roll over into the hundreds of millions over many drawings. The advertised jackpot prize is paid as an annuity over 29 years or players may elect to receive the present value, paid in cash. |
Powerball holds the record for the largest single prize awarded by an American lottery; on February 18, 2006, one ticket won the advertised $365 million jackpot. The eight people sharing the ticket elected to take the cash option, splitting $177,270,519.67 before withholdings.
How it works:
In order to play Powerball, users must select 5 numbers from a pool of 59 (white balls) along with one number (the Powerball) from a pool of 39 numbers. The official cut-off time for ticket sales is one hour before the drawing, although some jurisdictions cut off sales earlier than that. The drawings are regularly held at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Occasionally, drawings are held „on location“, sometimes to promote the game’s expansion to a new jurisdiction. The results of drawings are not official until they are audited by the accounting firm LWBJ, LLP.
On January 4 2009, the state of Florida joined the Powerball fold, creating some notable changes. Based on statistical projections, the average jackpot won increased from $95 million to $141 million. Over 3.5 million additional prizes are expected to be won yearly (based on the same sales level) due to the drop in overall probability. The starting jackpot has increased to $20 million (up from $15 million), with each rollover adding at least $5 million. The jackpot contribution has increased from 30.3% to 32.5% of total sales.
Prize divisions:
| Matches | Prize (approx.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Zero numbers, plus Powerball | $ 3 | |
| 1 number, plus Powerball | $ 4 | |
| 2 numbers, plus Powerball | $ 7 | |
| 3 numbers, no Powerball | $ 7 | |
| 3 numbers, plus Powerball | $ 100 | |
| 4 numbers, no Powerball | $ 100 | |
| 4 numbers, plus Powerball | $ 10,000 | |
| All 5 numbers, no Powerball | $ 200,000 | |
| All 5 numbers, plus Powerball | Jackpot |