NEWS

New Powerball rules could make jackpot bigger

Sheldon S. Shafer
Louisville Courier Journal

New rules for playing the Powerball multistate lottery game are going into effect after this Saturday night's drawing, with the changes intended to produce bigger jackpots but also to boost some of the lesser prizes significantly.

The current odds of matching the six numbers drawn are one in 175.2 million; the odds for matching the six numbers when the matrix expands for the first drawing with the new rules Wednesday night will be one in 292.2 million, said Kentucky Lottery spokesman Chip Polston.

Because so many players across the country are currently playing Powerball, the jackpots are being hit more frequently and thus tending to limit the size of the ultimate game payout, Polston said.

"Sales really take off when the jackpot surpasses the magic $200 million mark," he said.

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Individual Powerball play tickets will continue to cost $2, with sales of the redesigned game to begin on Sunday and the first drawing with the new features scheduled for Wednesday night. Tickets are sold in most states, including Kentucky and Indiana.

There will be better overall odds of winning any prize, a big jump up to $50,000 for the game’s third prize level, and a chance for players to multiply secondary prize winnings by up to 10 times when the jackpot is $150 million or less.

There will be changes to both sets of numbers that players use. Players will choose the first five numbers from a set of 69 (currently 59) white balls and their Powerball from a pool of 26 (currently 35) red balls. The end result will be better overall odds of winning any prize, with extended odds of winning the jackpot.

Powerball jackpots will continue to start at $40 million and the game’s second prize for matching the first five numbers but missing the Powerball will remain at $1 million.

But the game’s third prize level is getting a five-fold increase from $10,000 to $50,000 — for matching four of the first five numbers and the Powerball. The game’s Power Play option also will get a big expansion, with a 10 times feature for secondary prizes when jackpots in the game are at lower levels.

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“Powerball sales in Kentucky — and as a whole across the nation — have not been where we want them to be,” said Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Arch Gleason. “That’s due in large part to the lack of major and sustained jackpot runs, which always capture the public’s attention. These changes should help us deliver the big jackpots players want, all while bumping up some of our secondary prizes as well.”

Since getting its start in April 1992, Powerball has grown into one of the world’s biggest and most recognizable lottery games. Today players are buying more than $4 billion in Powerball tickets each year. The biggest jackpot in the game to date was a $590.5 million prize won by a Florida woman in May 2013.

Powerball drawings will continue to be held at 10:59 p.m. Eastern on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at (502) 582-7089, or via email at sshafer@courier-journal.com.

A lottery ticket is printed for a customer at a Chicago 7-Eleven.