Changes to Powerball, the country's largest lotto game, take effect Sunday (August 28), with two new numbers added to the mix.
Lottery players will be able to buy the new Powerball tickets beginning Sunday morning, and the first drawing held from among 55 white balls and 42 red balls will be Wednesday night (August 31).
The 29 lotteries that operate Powerball announced the changes April 6 to meet players' demands for larger and faster-growing jackpots.
The minimum jackpot will increase to $15 million from the current $10 million, and will increase by no less than $5 million for each drawing.
The annuity option will also be changed so that players will receive an annual payment that increases each year. Players can also still elect to receive the jackpot as a lump-sum cash payment.
The latest Powerball jackpot winner was from New Mexico, and the $93.4 million jackpot was awarded as a $52.2 million lump-sum cash payment.
In the improved version of Powerball coming Sunday, the second prize for matching five white ball numbers will now double, from $100,000 to $200,000. With the purchase of the Power Play option, players will have the opportunity to multiply their winnings from two to five times to win up to $1 million.
To increase the average jackpot size, two white ball numbers will be added, changing the jackpot odds to 1 in 146.1 million. The current game has jackpot odds of 1 in 120.5 million. The overall odds of winning a cash prize will remain virtually the same at 1 in 36.60 (up slightly from 1 in 36.06).
This is the fourth design change for the best-known multi-state jackpot game since it was created in 1992. The last change was in October 2002.
In order to prepare for the change, multiple drawing advance purchases have been stepped down through Saturday night's (tomorrow's) drawing. States offering Powerball tickets will again offer the option to purchase advance tickets for multiple consecutive drawings on Sunday morning.
good bad or indifferent. i am glad that it is going into effect. i can now once again get my multi draw tickets.
Me too. I'm glad that PB increased the number of WB from 53 to 55. I'm also happy about the 2nd tier prize of $200000 and 3rd tier prize of $10000. I was a little disappointed that the number of PB stayed at 42 when I had demanded 45 or 46 PBs. Other than the disappointment of number of PB staying at 42, I'm happy.
I sure wish the Powerball folks would provide hard evidence that it is the players who want change.
I doubt that many players demanded a harder game.
It's the lottery folks who changed the game to make more money. They couldn't stand the fact that players were able to pick winning numbers as frequently as they did.
This is typical deceit by lottery folks. They do it because they can get away with it. They know that no politician or law enforcement official will interfere, so long as the money continues to flow out of the pockets of the poor into state bank accounts.
In the old days when lotteries, or number games, were run by criminal elements, law enforcement was quick to act.
Shame on us for letting lotteries get away with this kind of behavior.
I'm unexcited about this new Powerball, as usual.
Whooptie-puke... so what if the jackpot starts at 15M and increases by 5M.
Big vomit... if there's a power play... I don't power play.
Untill I'm big time winner... I'm not big on Powerball.
Now, I'll only play untill the jackpot reaches 300M.
Good Luck, You'll need it!
I sure wish the Powerball folks would provide hard evidence that it is the players who want change.
I doubt that many players demanded a harder game.
It's the lottery folks who changed the game to make more money. They couldn't stand the fact that players were able to pick winning numbers as frequently as they did.
This is typical deceit by lottery folks. They do it because they can get away with it. They know that no politician or law enforcement official will interfere, so long as the money continues to flow out of the pockets of the poor into state bank accounts.
In the old days when lotteries, or number games, were run by criminal elements, law enforcement was quick to act.
Shame on us for letting lotteries get away with this kind of behavior.
I agree with a lot of what you say. But I don't think there's any evidence to support the statement,
"They couldn't stand the fact that players were able to pick winning numbers as frequently as they did."
The conventional wisdom that the games were won mostly with QPs appears to be more accurate than any conventional wisdom has a right to be.
LP members probably have the best informational tools, databases, and lottery information exchange in existence. There's probably nowhere in the world where more effort at prediction is taking place, where the people attempting to do it are better qualified through skill, study, experience, than here.
Take a look at the Maddog Challenges, however. Nobody predicting on LP, the best there is anywhere, is much good at it. If those PB officials are losing any sleep it's because they're laughing too hard to lie still and count sheep.
I agree they want big game jackpots, and that mama luck has run against the grain for them. But I'm not seeing any evidence that players successfully predicting numbers and buying tickets for them has anything to do with it.
Would that it weren't so.
Hopefully, someday Maddog, RJOH, Four4me, Jap69, Lantern, or some other LP user will figure it all out and make a liar of me.
Having said that, I agree with almost everything else you've said.
As for the matrix change, I don't believe it will make much difference in terms of someone managing to predict the outcomes. If a system can be devised to predict what numbers are going hit, it will probably work equally well, no matter what the matrix.
Jack
Jack:
Seldom as it happens, in this case I agree with you. No one can call a QP talent. I always agree, in that the reason for the change was profit, not player demands for higher jackpots. Everyone wants higher jackpots, no science there.
Would be nice if someone hit today though. Would like some luck player to get to the profit-mongers one more time.
Good luck to whoever is playing today.
good bad or indifferent. i am glad that it is going into effect. i can now once again get my multi draw tickets.
Me too. I run a lottery pool at the office of both Powerball and Lotto tickets. I can buy all the lotto tickets in one purchase, but have to keep going back for Powerball. Now I can take care of all of it in one shot every payday.
PrisonerSix
Me too. I'm glad that PB increased the number of WB from 53 to 55. I'm also happy about the 2nd tier prize of $200000 and 3rd tier prize of $10000. I was a little disappointed that the number of PB stayed at 42 when I had demanded 45 or 46 PBs. Other than the disappointment of number of PB staying at 42, I'm happy.
No one hit the last draw in the 5/53+1/42 matrix. The current jackpot under the new 5/55+1/42 matrix will be 44 million. The $25 million dollar restriction rule and no jackpot winners will help. I hope PB's changes help in the future and go above the North American jackpot record of 363 million with 1 ticket winning it all with lots of Match 5 Bonus Prize.
good bad or indifferent. i am glad that it is going into effect. i can now once again get my multi draw tickets.
Me too. I run a lottery pool at the office of both Powerball and Lotto tickets. I can buy all the lotto tickets in one purchase, but have to keep going back for Powerball. Now I can take care of all of it in one shot every payday.
PrisonerSix
i am so jealous of you. i wish i lived close enough to get to louisiana. i don't know what it is about that state but 2 out of 3 tickets i get from there i win. i only play powerball when i come but i always get me a dollar ticket for max drawings.
i was in hog heaven a while ago. i was working in shreveport for a month and i was buying a max ticket every new drawing while i was there. i would then just drive over to texas and get me a megamillion ticket too. i had a lot of baby hits on the powerball. at the time texas didn't like me and i got nothing.
in a couple of weeks i am headed to kansas city and i am going to get me a kansas powerball ticket for max drawings. sometimes it is bad living on the left coast!!!
Me too. I'm glad that PB increased the number of WB from 53 to 55. I'm also happy about the 2nd tier prize of $200000 and 3rd tier prize of $10000. I was a little disappointed that the number of PB stayed at 42 when I had demanded 45 or 46 PBs. Other than the disappointment of number of PB staying at 42, I'm happy.
Why would you want the PB matrix to go to 45 or 46? That would have made the odds alot worse than adding 2 white balls.
Plus with keeping it at 42 PB, for really big jackpots, it is still manageable to buy 42 tickets covering every PB number.
good bad or indifferent. i am glad that it is going into effect. i can now once again get my multi draw tickets.
Me too. I run a lottery pool at the office of both Powerball and Lotto tickets. I can buy all the lotto tickets in one purchase, but have to keep going back for Powerball. Now I can take care of all of it in one shot every payday.
PrisonerSix
i am so jealous of you. i wish i lived close enough to get to louisiana. i don't know what it is about that state but 2 out of 3 tickets i get from there i win. i only play powerball when i come but i always get me a dollar ticket for max drawings.
i was in hog heaven a while ago. i was working in shreveport for a month and i was buying a max ticket every new drawing while i was there. i would then just drive over to texas and get me a megamillion ticket too. i had a lot of baby hits on the powerball. at the time texas didn't like me and i got nothing.
in a couple of weeks i am headed to kansas city and i am going to get me a kansas powerball ticket for max drawings. sometimes it is bad living on the left coast!!!
I don't think anyone is jealous of Louisiana today. Unfortunately, they just upgraded Hurricane Katrina to a Category 5 storm with 160 MPH winds. And it looks like there is a good chance it will hit New Orleans.
I'm thinking that might make the worst storm since Carla in '62, '63, hit Port Lavaca, Matagorda Bay.
What with all the subsidence a storm of that magnitude mightn't just hit it.... New Orleans could come out of it with a lot less charm down in the French Quarter if a person has to wear scuba gear to visit it.
Might be better if the storm swings west and hits Houston, Galveston, Corpus or Beaumont instead, brings a bit of rain up this way.
They tend to be more prepared for those really bad storms, seems to me. Galveston's had enough of them to keep them aware of the need to evacuate early and thoroughly.
Here's hoping the storm misses Louisiana, completely.
Jack
I'm unexcited about this new Powerball, as usual.
Whooptie-puke... so what if the jackpot starts at 15M and increases by 5M.
Big vomit... if there's a power play... I don't power play.
Untill I'm big time winner... I'm not big on Powerball.
Now, I'll only play untill the jackpot reaches 300M.
Good Luck, You'll need it!
About the $300 million (presumably) limit... what gives?! Play for over a billion, I say! My mini-pool at work doesn't start playing until it reaches $50 million (it's mini because layoffs/illness has shrunk our ranks and we keep to ourselves and don't try to join adjoining offices pools, if they even have them) and we play until they payoff the jackpot. In over 10 years of playing, including CT Lotto, I have no clear memory of hitting any single prize over $10, although we might have accumulated multiple wins on our xeroxed page to top $10. How's that for luck?
BTW-- what is the correct method for Quoting only the single line I was referencing from the original message by 'Jade'?
Me too. I'm glad that PB increased the number of WB from 53 to 55. I'm also happy about the 2nd tier prize of $200000 and 3rd tier prize of $10000. I was a little disappointed that the number of PB stayed at 42 when I had demanded 45 or 46 PBs. Other than the disappointment of number of PB staying at 42, I'm happy.
Why would you want the PB matrix to go to 45 or 46? That would have made the odds alot worse than adding 2 white balls.
Plus with keeping it at 42 PB, for really big jackpots, it is still manageable to buy 42 tickets covering every PB number.
smd173, I had proposed 44 to 46 PB in addition to the 55 WBs for these reasons. First, PB had the 5/45+1/45 matrix where they draw a red PB out of 45 before November 1997. I wanted the odds much worse so PB can compete with Mega Millions to see which multi-state game will eventually pass the North American jackpot record of 363 million. Besides only $1 can win a jackpot.