Changes coming to Powerball multi-state lottery game in January

Comment #125

Raven62 — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:16:59 GMT

Comment #124

oak65 — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:03:20 GMT

POWER BALL LOTTERY EXECUTIVES TAKE NOTICE :

In these difficult times and the people that usually play power ball are usually those that have barely 2 pennies to rub together...

They think sucking more money out of each player will get more people to play ?? ***Making it Easy (like when power ball first started) will get more people to play!***

I think Power Ball will suffer. They think this lottery is suffering, wait til the changes come in Jan. * Also it's not just the power ball lott... [ More ]

Comment #123

mightwin — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:21:51 GMT

I could be wrong but when they changed it awhile back and added more numbers to either the white balls or red balls, they claimed higher or even record setting jackpots were going to take place. I didn't really see any of those so to plug the stats and say the average jackpot won is going to be a certain amount(powerball website says $255 million) is silly. I usually play 5 picks on each draw which costs me $10 a week, but thats gonna now cost $20 a week? I think I'll put my $5 from pball to the... [ More ]

Comment #122

haymaker — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 03:35:36 GMT

gonna wait to see how it shakes out,played mm instead cause odds were slightly better.

Comment #121

chuck32 — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 03:25:58 GMT

You are missing the total payout of all prize levels. The total payout for all prizes stays the same; just a little moving around among the prize levels.

Comment #120

dallascowboyfan — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 11:44:32 GMT

PrisonerSix, at least you have 2 State Lotto games you can play where Oklahoma has 0 NONE

Comment #119

rdgrnr — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 01:42:33 GMT

As it turns out, this transition is easiest for people like me who played Powerplay already.

I can understand the complaints of those who didn't play Powerplay because when all is said and done, what this looks like is everybody being forced to purchase Powerplay for the one million dollar 5+0 prize by including it in the price of the ticket.

Comment #118

CashWinner$ — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 00:57:55 GMT

I'm still going to play Powerball after it changes. What the heck......

I wanna win BIG-MONEY!!!!!!!!......well.....ok.......little-money is fine too..........

Comment #117

CashWinner$ — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 00:46:15 GMT

All Hail To The Ridge'ster!! Did you call it or what..?...........Score...

Word to the Wise: It's best not to volley with those who have the keys to the IP's .....Mmmm'Hmmm Checkmate..

Comment #116

jimjwright — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 05:27:36 GMT

So what am I missing here 32.5288 * 2 = 65.0576 and the new game is giving 63.9512, seems like your paying out less on the dollar. Oh I forgot (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) there will be more second prize million dollar winners. Good one.

Jimmy

Comment #115

PrisonerSix — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 02:15:31 GMT

Most states these days have both Powerball and MegaMillions, so I wonder if people in those states will just buy MegaMillions and not Powerball. My state only has Powerball and no intentions to add MegaMillions, so I guess I'm stuck.

Comment #114

RL-RANDOMLOGIC — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 11:05:18 GMT

I can't let this go, years back MO. changed it's pick-5 from a 5-30 which paid $25,000 taxes paid

for a 5of5 win with 1 in 142506 odds. The game changed to a 5-44 with odds of 1 in 1,086,008

1,086,008 / 142406 = 7.62. What this means to me is that I have to buy over 7 tickets for the

new matrix to have the same chance as I did with the 5-30 game. Did the prize levels increase

by a factor of 7, long story short, NO.

I called the lottery and asked the reason for the change, I was to... [ More ]

Comment #113

RL-RANDOMLOGIC — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 10:10:28 GMT

I thought I had heard it all, They double the price of a ticket, drop the odds down to the mega millions

level and tell everyone what a good deal it is. If you buy 2 tickets for Mega millions your odds are only

1 in 87,855,786. Half that of the new PB game.

RL

Comment #112

PrisonerSix — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 01:39:32 GMT

Increasing the price from $1 to $2 is going to present me with a problem. Like I've posted about before, I run a lottery pool at work in which I collect $4 every 2 weeks from a group of 13 people including me, which allows me to buy 7 Powerball and 6 Lotto tickets for 4 drawings. I'm not quite sure if I'm going to up the price, reduce the number of tickets I buy, or what. Once I figure out the options, I'll take a vote of the membership and see which way they want to go.

I'll probably also... [ More ]

Comment #111

chuck32 — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:07:23 GMT

The current 59/39 game drops 32.5288 cents per play to the cash jackpot prize pool. In the new 59/35 game, the contribution will be 63.9512 cents per play. The $1 million second prize (Match 5) is funded with 19.4038 cents per play. The third most expensive prize is the bottom one ($4 for Match 0+1), taking 7.2194 cents per play The other six prize levels take up the rest of the prize pool.

Comment #110

joshuacloak — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 07:08:30 GMT

wow they sure are creative for 223 games in some brain storm day long meetings am guesting lol

and now its down to 4, will hopeful you have it out by 2015 lol.

also the more i think about it, the more i like the idea of 2 bucks for a pb game if really helps the jackpot grow a lot faster.

i made the mistake of rushing to judge pb changes, if your pb design math is right. and it makes PB grow a lot faster to 100m, 200m + range, i be quite happy with the change! as its more excit... [ More ]

Comment #109

Mario38 — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:45:30 GMT

Sorry, but I do not see your evidence as irrefutable.

I did not say you deleted random posts. It appeared the posts that were deleted were ones you did not agree with.

My intention is not to put down games but simply compare games using expected value and mathematics. Remember, I play the US lotteries and have for many years.

Comment #108

imagine — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:27:19 GMT

Now, now...are you fibbing? Or just being kind?

Shocked? I thought you were right on the money.

It's against the rules to call me out is the same as no defense to an accusation

Comment #107

rdgrnr — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:16:26 GMT

Wow, little guy.

I'm really shocked that it turns out that you were the liar all along.

(I had a funny feelin' you were )

But you kept calling me the liar.

And you expect people to send money out of the country to you?

Next time remember that honesty is the best policy, twinkletoes.

Comment #106

Todd — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:00:05 GMT

Oh, I see. When presented with irrefutable evidence, simply change the focus to something else. Now I have a vendetta and randomly delete your posts?

Do you think anyone is buying this?

I assure you I don't feel that you are providing competition in any way. I just think it's best that people know exactly who they are dealing with, and what your motivations are. Heck, if I ran an Internet pool website for Canada lottery games, I might also try to put down popular American lottery games.... [ More ]

Comment #105

Mario38 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:06:44 GMT

I only recognize one of the old accounts. The other accounts could have been held by other members of the groups. Some members of the groups were promoting the groups to increase the size and thereby increase the probability of winning. I also cannot verify the start and last visited dates.

When I changed email addresses and computer at the same time, I lost the ability to recover the old password.

Todd, you seem to have a vendetta against me. There have been a number of cases where you de... [ More ]

Comment #104

chuck32 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:50:57 GMT

Creating a new game involves getting creative folks together for a sesssion or two to come up with new game concepts. After the second meeting, there were 223 game concepts created. After several meetings and research groups, that was whittled down to four. In the end, the national game will be one game concept.

Some added value options are in the proposal process. The lotteries will eventually vote on what to accept, if any. Since U.S. lotteries are run by state governments, with varying de... [ More ]

Comment #103

Todd — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:23:33 GMT

Nice try, but no.

Over the years you have created many personalities , and you knew very well it wasn't allowed.

For example, here's a post you made under the Jake649 name, in which you criticized another member for doing it: https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/78621/160540

That was in December 2003. You've had several accounts since then. Here's a smattering, although not a complete list:

Lionel

Member Since: April 14, 2002

Last Visited: March 17, 2006

Jake649

Member Sinc... [ More ]

Comment #102

Mario38 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:59:42 GMT

Todd, I find your criticism rather harsh given what has gone on here lately.

I may have had other accounts in the past but never more than one account at a time. Over the years, I have gone through many computers, email addresses and job relocations and have resorted to creating a new account when I could not resurrect an old account.

In the past, when I did post information about a particular pool, I was under the impression I was abiding by the rules. Many members here promote their syst... [ More ]

Comment #101

bobby623 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:55:44 GMT

I assume you are a Powerball official with direct knowledge regarding game details.

In your comment, you say 'turned into specific games.

Are there more than one national game in the works?

You also advised players who say they will quit playing PB in January to defer final judgment because there are some 'added value' in the

works.

What does that mean?

Thanks for a reply

Comment #100

TheOtherOne — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:12:01 GMT

Meh, thats not due until December of next year. So I guess we will have almost a full year of trying the new $2 system before we all are kaput.

Comment #99

chuck32 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:09:16 GMT

Tired of playing Powerball . Well, that's kind a good reason for making changes to the game. Some other value adds are still in the works too. Lots of folks are making knee-jerk judgments and decisions about what they plan to do in January 2012. How about just sitting tight to see what happens? Maybe a meteor will strike the Earth before then.

Comment #98

TheOtherOne — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:07:22 GMT

Powerball now has a face to use for their advertising next year...

Comment #97

Win$500Quick — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:57:49 GMT

$2 and a dream . Just don't have the same ring to it. I decide yesterday I will either win this year or retire Powerball in January. I play every draw and never get anything. So it will be very easy for me to quit.

Comment #96

KY Floyd — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:18:15 GMT

The new Powerball game will still offer players nine ways to win prizes, with its second prize moving up to $1 million in cash from the current $200,000, and the lowest prize level (for those who match just the Powerball) being elevated to $4 from $3.

Let's see what these better odds really are. Right now $2 gives you a 1 in 97.5 million chance of winning the jackpot, and for the same $2 the new game will give you a 1 in 175 million chance. They claim that the jackpot will be twice as big, bu... [ More ]

Comment #95

Todd — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:34:45 GMT

OK, good to hear, thanks for the update.

Comment #94

chuck32 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:22:53 GMT

The national game is still in the works. The idea is to come up with something new. It is at the stage where concepts need to be turned into specific games.

Comment #93

Todd — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:53:23 GMT

I'm afraid trying to describe the purpose of my sarcasm would be very boring to most here, since it is plainly obvious.

I know you're saying you're trying to abide by the rules here, but that has never stopped you in the past. Like when you posted your link under the name Lionel . Or when you discussed your various pools under the name Jake649 . And, of course, I'm sure you're familiar with the rules against creating multiple accounts on Lottery Post, yet it did not stop you from doing that e... [ More ]

Comment #92

Mario38 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:36:55 GMT

Sorry, I guess I did not understand the purpose of the sarcasm.

I am keeping it under the radar to conform to your rules. By the way, you must be aware not all members conform to your rules.

Comment #91

Todd — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:30:05 GMT

It's called sarcasm, to address your first sentence.

On the second part, you did not have a problem in the past discussing it. Remember when you posted under the name Lionel ? Or Jake649 ? Under those names you discussed your pools all the time. These days running an online pool probably would get more scrutiny, so maybe that's why you want to keep it under the radar.

Comment #90

Empress-N — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:21:33 GMT

The new Powerball game will still offer players nine ways to win prizes, with its second prize moving up to $1 million in cash from the current $200,000, and the lowest prize level (for those who match just the Powerball) being elevated to $4 from $3.

My apologies, I overlooked the highlighted statement above from the article, thanks a bunch Rdgrnr for pointing it out to me, had to read it all over again (slowly lol). From the new discovery, I retract the previous statement I posted Powerball... [ More ]

Comment #89

Mario38 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:17:47 GMT

I was not aware the Canadian games are popular with US residents.

I will send you a private message to answer your second question. I do not want to discuss the pools I play in on this forum in case it is seen as promotion or advertising as per the forum rules.

Comment #88

Todd — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:34:35 GMT

Um...er....OK, I guess. That's why people are scrambling over the border to play 6/49 and Lotto Max, right?

Which games does your online pool site play

Comment #87

Mario38 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:32:11 GMT

I have the opportunity to play every Powerball draw, but I choose not to because of the low expected value. The two main games in Canada are Lotto 649 at $2 per ticket and Lotto Max at $5 per ticket. The ticket costs are more in line with the odds of the game and therefore usually a better expected value. There have been two occasions (rare given how long the game has been around) where a Lotto 649 draw had an expected value of over 100%.

Comment #86

Todd — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:27:03 GMT

Good deal.

Are you able to comment on the progress of a new national game? Are the changes to Powerball in lieu of a new national game, or is it still in the works

Comment #85

Todd — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:23:58 GMT

I'm sure that you don't play often because you are from Canada. Where they play $2 games, right? (Or $5 per play for Super 7.

Comment #84

faber98 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:36:48 GMT

your delusional. you need a minimum of 40 million. you'd be doing handstands if you won 40K which is about a 300,000-1 chance...there isn't much more than a microscopic difference between 2 chances or 5 chances in 175 million if you understood the law of probability and statistics which i don't, but all this is just a pipe dream anyway..

Comment #83

slick30 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:42:19 GMT

for me, it is a matter of how much it costs to play. i go several weeks without playing a game because i just don't have an extra dollar. when i DO have a few extra dollars i would much rather have 5 chances in 175 million than 2 chances.

and as far as the size of the jackpot, i would not complain if i won the second prize of 200 or 250 K, but i have been making plans about what i would do with a huge jackpot for about as long as i've been playing. and in order to get all the things i want an... [ More ]

Comment #82

joshuacloak — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 04:40:10 GMT

so if chick32 who we think he is.

thank god the cap gone , good news , maybe now PB has a shot at beating MM records. even if the odds are lowered

the current powerball FAQ , thirty cents of every dollar sold, goes into the jackpot.

so now with it be 2 bucks, it be 60 cents to jackpot right? , with the change of 2 bucks per ticket?

if we do have a high 300m or record run, the 2 buck change would be Good for it jackpot growth , as people buy a lot during lotto fever outbreak. ,

Comment #81

Hammer1 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:54:02 GMT

Since the Power Ball started in texas there have only been 30 people match the first 5 numbers out of 146 draws. and of those 30 people only 7 have played power play.

There have been NO Power Ball winners in Texas. So this new change will NOT help anyone in Texas.

Comment #80

Mario38 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:02:08 GMT

I agree Prob988. The expected value for Powerball is rarely high enough to make it worth playing. With a $2 ticket, it will happen even less often.

Comment #79

dr65 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:56:29 GMT

I don't care for PB unless the jackpot is way up, then I'll buy some tickets and add the extras.

So if I play 5 qp's with PP, I'll be paying $15 for them instead of $10? No thanks.

Comment #78

chuck32 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:37:23 GMT

The cap is also gone.

Comment #77

tkr333 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:28:14 GMT

This will be a good move! Not on powerballs part but it will help the state lotteries bring in more revenue,because there are too many working people out there who play that extra dollar hoing to win! I would also say megamill is sitting back hoping you make this change

Comment #76

TheGameGrl — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:24:32 GMT

Crow,. Stay on topic, this is not a political arena. Its about the Powerball and its changes.

Comment #75

Prob988 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:08:32 GMT

I play by expectation value, meaning I'm far less likely to play this game.

With it's artificial cap, there is no way that Powerball can ever have an expectation value that's worth very much.

Comment #74

Empress-N — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 01:00:36 GMT

Honestly, I do not think this is fair at all. Ok so the plan is to change the game but my big question is this....

If we have to spend $2.00 - $3.00 per game then I think that the option should be:

5 of 5 + 0 (without the Power Play) should pay out an automatic $1,000,000.00

5 of 5 + 0 (with Power Play) should pay out $2,000,000.00

And at this price hike they should pay out more on the small wins also. (All this would be worth my $3.00 a game, so what do you think about that MUSL, ho... [ More ]

Comment #73

JWBlue — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:11:39 GMT

I am surpised that research by MUSL (Powerball) found that a vast majority of players would not object to the $2.00 per play.

About the overwhelming negative response on this board.

I have found that usually the opinons on message boards no matter the topic are part of the small minority. This which would substantiate the research by MUSL.

Comment #72

TheOtherOne — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:07:33 GMT

Great point Editgap. That really puts it in perspective and reminds me that out of MM AND PB in TN there hasn't even been a winner of more than $100 or $150 in the last few weeks.

This is why I just do not foresee much benefit to this DOUBLE pricepoint.

Comment #71

Longarm — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 00:01:34 GMT

The impending change has already been addressed on the FAQ page at powerball.com. When I read it, I thought of your mention of people who don't buy tickets until the jackpot is higher. It seems they did at least consider such implications. From the latest FAQ entry:

The guaranted starting jackpot will double to $40 million and will jump twice as fast, by at least $10 million each draw. It may be that the jackpot grows so quickly that players will not have time to notice that the game has hit... [ More ]

Comment #70

Win$500Quick — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:55:51 GMT

This is just an easy way for lottery officials to double their money at the players expense. I have got to win Powerball this year. When the changes go in effective I will no longer play powerball. I will just have settle for the jackpot in the Florida Lotto with better odds. At least it will still cost $1 and I don't have worry about matching the powerball.

Comment #69

sully16 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:53:23 GMT

If I decide to play, I will play less lines for more money, of course the jackpot will grow if enough people do the same thing I will do.

Comment #68

Editgap — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:40:21 GMT

Look at the recent powerball run from the starting jackpot below. We are suppose to believe that there would be higher jackpots and more millionaires from the 5+0 wins by guess what tweaking the 0 part by reducing it from 39 to 35. How exactly is that suppose to work.

63M

2 Players

Matched 5+0:

- 1 from New Jersey

- 1 from Texas

49M

3 Players

Matched 5+0:

- 1 from Arizona with Power Play

- 1 from Massachusetts

- 1 from Minnesota

36M

5 Players... [ More ]

Comment #67

GYM RICE — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:38:52 GMT

Right now I'm not a fan of this. I hope mega millions doesn't decide to go to $2 dollars. And if MM does decide to up the ante, they may as well make their game a $5 game and start the jackpots at 100 million.

Comment #66

THRIFTY — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:09:53 GMT

I will buy one lottery ticket at some time in the future to be able to legitimately dream of winning a huge lottery jackpot.

I have to be in it to win it.I can't dream of winning the lottery unless I play.If I never buy a ticket I can never win unless I find a winning ticket, somebody buys a ticket for me, the lottery allows me to play for free or someone I know wins a big lottery jackpot, and he or she gives me money.But I want to win the lottery by buying my own ticket.

HOW MANY TIMES DO... [ More ]

Comment #65

chuck32 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:56:49 GMT

Ha! No problem being outed (again). The research method requires a full and clear presentation of the changes and a discussion of other options in the market and many more details about how the game will play - how the jackpots will build, the average jackpots offered and won, etc. It also includes purchase modeling to try to judge how players will respond with their dollars, no matter what they say. I can only ask that players give it a chance. See how the game plays. In the end, I think they w... [ More ]

Comment #64

Editgap — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:45:54 GMT

I agree with you, why didn't they mention a probable changes before in was imminent.

Comment #63

Todd — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:45:08 GMT

They did not, but they most certainly read comments from players posted at Lottery Post -- and have for several years. See chuck32's comment earlier in this thread. (Chuck, you were already outed a long time ago, hopefully you don't mind the mention! I think it's great that you make serious effort to directly address peoples' concerns.

Comment #62

TheOtherOne — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:37:27 GMT

i agree, this sounds extremely automated-y. Not to mention the info in there is preposturous.

Out of 1000s, they REALLY couldnt find anyone to say anything negative, when after 2 or 3 posts on this board you had gobs of negativity?

Man, I was all about the changes as i read down the list til I hit that $two dollar increase.

If I wanted to spend $2 a ticket, I would buy the worthless powerplay option.

Think about it, look back on all you have won and if you had spend double each time.... [ More ]

Comment #61

LottoPools — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:30:21 GMT

Todd,

Did anyone from MUSL approach you about polling the members of this site about the change? If not, I think they missed an opportunity to obtain some informed input.

Comment #60

faber98 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:02:10 GMT

it would nice to win the last 1.00 drawing. you have to feel for the kitchen table people who sit around on a saturday nite with their 5.00-20.00 worth of PB tickets listening to oldies on the radio, drinking snip tails or coffee, waiting for the drawing that will now cost them double for the same amount of tickets. somehow i think the enthusiasm will dampen by doubling the price. still don't understand why people want to win that much (100mil or more). you would think that 2-10 million would pl... [ More ]

Comment #59

chuck32 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:58:55 GMT

You have to ask yourself, Why do I play Powerball? If the answer is because its costs $1 , then you probably should quit. If the answer is for a shot at really big jackpots , then you might want to wait to see what happens to the game. If the answer is for a shot at a really big jackpots and the chance to win a million while I'm waiting , then, you might want to check out the new game.

The scratch games moved to higher prices long ago. Sales of $1 scratch tickets are in decline while sales o... [ More ]

Comment #58

ressuccess — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:57:23 GMT

Good luck to the people participating in the game Powerball.

Comment #57

maringoman — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:37:53 GMT

Oh well, six more months until I quit poweball. Hopefully something nice will happen in the meantime.

Good luck players, hopefully you guys too get lucky before the big change happens.

Comment #56

crow — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:24:25 GMT

TheGameGrl wrote : Change is a positive way for things to improve

Wow,I've heard liberals scream this insanity ever since the obama campaign and we're even more in debt and our economy still even further in the tank....change is not always positive for things to improve or the effects would be beneficial which they clearly are not whether it be in the powerball or the presidential election.

I know what is positive though and that is the lack of change in my pocket since the last election.... [ More ]

Comment #55

rdgrnr — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:04:16 GMT

I have this sick feeling in my gut that the Dragon Lady is involved in this game change somehow.

If so, this has to be bad for players if she's involved in it.

The Dragon Lady brings only disappointment and despair wherever she goes and to everything she touches.

Comment #54

chuck32 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:58:00 GMT

What? You want a completely orginal response to the same question or statement? Seems like a lot of needless re-arranging of letters. There are only 26 of them, you know. A little cut-and-paste is not, by definition, evil.

Comment #53

HaveABall — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:24:26 GMT

Thanks phitch, it's interesting statistics. I wonder what it is for MegaMillions

Comment #52

phitch — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:22:46 GMT

It's good to know that I wasn't the only one who emailed MUSL

Comment #51

hearsetrax — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:19:32 GMT

looks like the other form letter type of response to me

Comment #50

phitch — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:10:51 GMT

If anyone is interested, I emailed the MUSL and this is the response that I received about the Powerball change:

We ve done a lot of research on the game change. Once players tested saw the game change, they agreed that $2 was not an issue. We couldn t really ever find one person among thousands who thought it was a bad idea. Still, the lotteries were slow to change (we ve been testing since 2005). It was finally time to change a product that has had the same price since 1992. Think of that.

Comment #49

Stack47 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:05:43 GMT

I was way off because 175 million tickets will equal a one drawing sales of $350 million. The new bonus number change will lower the chances of hitting the jackpot but players will still have odds of 5,138,133 to 1 of matching all five numbers and to get a legitimate 50% chance the jackpot will be hit, they will need between 18 and 20 five number matches. At $2 a ticket thats around $200 million in sales.

Comment #48

LottoPools — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:40:36 GMT

Looks like I won't be playing this game anymore. $1 a game is fine........ $2 a whack is not. Joker831 (I don't know how to quote a post)

As mentioned earlier, I hope MM doesn't do this. Even with my pools, my lottery budget is limited. If PB was all I had to play, my chances to play would be cut in half, thereby decreasing my chance of winning.

Headed to MM to ask them not to do this. If PB cared about what the players think, we would have heard about this before it was a done deal.... [ More ]

Comment #47

freeobama — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:33:07 GMT

Mega millions should change the starting jackpot amount. I thought they would have at least double the starting amount, when mm added practically the rest of the country to the game. Mega millions should also keep their tickets to $1, I do not want to spend $2 every time i play especially when the odds is close to impossible to win.

Comment #46

freeobama — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:13:17 GMT

Starting jackpots double to $40 million=Great for players. Better overall odds for more winners=I doubt it. Ticket price will increase to $2=Great for powerball not the players.

Comment #45

NoShame — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 17:02:10 GMT

I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this. I wouldn't know for sure until it's actually implemented and we see for ourselves if changing the odds really does make a difference for the better. I get frustrated playing very cheap-to-play games with extremely terrible odds.

Comment #44

bobby623 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:45:19 GMT

I have relatives in Canada. They tell me there were many naysayers when the price to play their national 6/49 game doubled.

Guesss what. The game is thriving.

Canada recently added a once per week Pick 7/49 game with a mininum play of $5 for 3 games.

Again, the naysayers predicted the game would fail.

Guess what. The $10 million jackpot is won regularly.

Years ago, Texas introduced a $2 game called Texas Millions. It was a pick 4 game.

Guess what. The game was unpopular from th... [ More ]

Comment #43

konane — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:42:11 GMT

Comment #42

JordanT1021 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:30:28 GMT

I have 1 set of numbers that i also prebuy for 10 drawings at a time... I don't want my total cost doubling..

Comment #41

JordanT1021 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:29:25 GMT

this is a big mistake for powerball.... I know plenty of people who have 5 sets of number he/she plays every powerball drawing.. he/she prebuys those 5 sets of number for 26 draws.... so the total cost on this is $130.00

with the new option this would cost $260.00

that's a huge increase....

he/she also does the same with megamillions.... 5 sets of number for 26 draws totalling $130.00

the $1 quick pick option is good.... I have more chances to win something with 5 $1 quick picks, rat... [ More ]

Comment #40

Todd — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:22:56 GMT

That's true, anyone interested in voicing their opinion to the people in charge -- for or against -- should write directly to MUSL.

However, rest assured that folks from MUSL and the state lotteries are reading your comments here too. So absolutely continue expressing your opinions on the upcoming changes to the Powerball game.

Also, do you think Mega Millions should also be changed? Should it stay the same? Why

Comment #39

RJOh — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:22:44 GMT

With both games being similar it was alway hard to decide which one to play when their jackpots were similar sizes although PB had a slight edge paying $3 for a 0+1. If MM doesn't change, I won't have that problem next year since only their odds of winning will be about the same unless PB lower tier prizes amounts are increased.

Comment #38

HoLeeKau — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:35:33 GMT

Personally, when the jackpot is won I will often only get 1 ticket for the next 2 or 3 draws, till the JP is back up. I wonder if a lot of people do that, and that's what they're tyring to counteract by making that starting jackpot higher. I know when they change it, I will buy at least 2 tickets for that $40M JP.

I've always bought the powerplay option anyway, looking for that million dollar prize, so this isn't a big change for me. I can still spend my $2 per ticket, have a chance at a mill... [ More ]

Comment #37

rcbbuckeye — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:30:28 GMT

I almost always play the powerplay but I usually only play 1 or 2 lines, so this isn't going to make much difference to me. I'll just play the 2 bucks it will cost and hope if I don't win the jackpot, I'll win the million dollars.

Where this will matter to me is the pool at work. Everyone chips in a dollar for each draw, so we'll probably only play 5 lines instead of 10 when we play PB. But we only play PB when the jackpot is higher than MM.

Comment #36

dallascowboyfan — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:21:37 GMT

Now...Ridge I am going to win the first drawing Jackpot... I guess we will be sharing

Comment #35

joshuacloak — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 06:55:51 GMT

seeing as edit time window has pasted, i like to clear up my feelings

1 , why should i pay more for the Same jackpots amounts offered by MM

seeing as MM has 60m plus in jackpot cash record jackpot lead over PB , pb below 180m, with 240m cash jackpot for mm record

, with its stupid cap PB has, it has no chance in hell in ever offering me a better jackpot then MM has ever given for its 1 buck per shot at.

lets see, 175m odds, o look its better odds over mm now, , 1 thing, its sure... [ More ]

Comment #34

joshuacloak — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 05:58:48 GMT

i rather hate that players wanting more 1 million prize winners, got listined to and end up forcing me to now pay 2 bucks for a shot at 1 million

who died and made you players king over majority of us, some of us, like big jackpots, and like it or not, majority are greedy and we play more when the jackpots are sky high

pat your self's on the beck, you got pb changed, costing all more cease you wanted more 1 million buck winners, jerks

i perfer 1cost now, i only play the for jackpot... [ More ]

Comment #33

RJOh — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 05:07:41 GMT

People saying what they like and dislike about the up coming PowerBall changes doesn't mean much. Fact is there no way to tell if those complaining even play often enough that it matters. PB will knows if players like the changes by the number of tickets they buy once the changes are made.

Ohio had the same problem a few years back when their game was the most popular game in the area and they had quite a few out of state winners of $30M-$60M jackpots. They listened to people complain about m... [ More ]

Comment #32

Mario38 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:39:39 GMT

Stack47, if 175 million tickets are sold, then there is a 66% chance the jackpot will be hit. I do agree though, there will certainly be new jackpot records. I believe we will see a $500 million jackpot next year.

Comment #31

TheGameGrl — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:33:45 GMT

The irony is most here do not mind change if it behooves the players with better wins overall. We are still a lightening strike away from winning anything...There in lays the problem. So I doubt my one voice will make a reconsideration happen. They are already printing up the new play slips, gearing up the software for January implementation, its HIGHLY doubtful that a few thousand folks can halt the presses because we dont like this particular change . Change is a positive way for things to imp... [ More ]

Comment #30

phitch — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 04:17:37 GMT

I have read everyone's comment and majority of you are against the Powerball change, so just don't voice your opinion here. Go to the Powerball website and go to FAQ/History/News on the left side of the webpage and at the bottom of FAQ page there is a email address to the Multi-State Lottery Association and tell them how much you are against the change. Pass this information on to people who play Powerball and don't know about the change and have them email MUSL; maybe if we can get enough peopl... [ More ]

Comment #29

Stack47 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:58:53 GMT

I agree Powerplay is the better option with the new price increase, but you're still paying 50% more for the same amount of tickets. The jackpots will probably set new records because 175 million tickets must be sold just to have a 50% chance the jackpot will be hit. I don't know what the record sales for PB is for one drawing but MM sold only crossed the 200 million tickets sold twice.

Comment #28

tkr333 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:18:58 GMT

Dont play p/b often,the change would make sure i dont play it at all

Comment #27

diamondpalace — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:14:05 GMT

I rather have two bullets to hunt with instead of using just one to make the kill. Made with silver or steal if it hits it kills. Not spending $2 on it. Maybe when it gets to like 200+ millions, then it'll be fun. For now, I'm working on cleaning out Cash 5.

Comment #26

joker831 — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 03:04:12 GMT

Looks like I won't be playing this game anymore. $1 a game is fine........ $2 a whack is not. Realistically....... Only 50% of every dollar is paid out anyway and the new overall odds will not change that. If the lottery commission wants to stick it to the players, then I just won't play anymore. They just lost a long time customer.