Become a Powerball Winner

How to play Powerball Lotto

The game is based upon 2 pools of numbers from which to choose the right winning numbers. On the ticket, you have first to create a sequence of 5 unique numbers out of 59, which represent the white balls in the draw. This sequence has to be followed by a single number, which can range from 1 to 35. This number represents the red powerball in the draw. Because of separate draws, the number chosen from the red powerballs may be the same as one of the numbers chosen from the white balls. Since new rules were introduced on 15 January 2012, each Powerball ticket costs $2 per play. If someone chooses the “Power Play” option, initially introduced in 2001, they have to pay $3 for a ticket. Previously, games had cost $1 each, or $2 with Power Play. The “Power Play” option guarantees that the powerball winners will be paid out a higher cash prize than they would have been entitled to win in the respective prize category if they had only purchased a basic lottery ticket. The jackpot, however, is excluded from “Power Play”.

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Players can select their own numbers or have them randomly generated, which method is known as “quick pick” or “easy pick”. Altogether, there are 9 prize categories, the highest, i.e. the jackpot, correlates with 5 numbers plus powerball, the lowest correlates with one powerball number only. A ticket that fails to match a red powerball is not eligible to win unless it matches a minimum of three white balls. The drawing order of the five white balls is irrelevant. Powerball numbers and white numbers are not interchangeable, i.e. they cannot be substituted for one another in such a way as to create an advantage to the player. As a consequence of the “Power Play” option, players are inevitably presented with the question of whether to increase their chances to win the jackpot by purchasing more simple tickets or of whether to increase the prize level in the lower categories by choosing the option on their ticket. The odds to win the jackpot are approximately 1 in 175 million, the overall odds of winning any prize in the game are approximately 1 in 32. Thus, winning the Powerball jackpot is almost 1.5 times more likely than winning the Mega Millions jackpot (1 in 259 million). The overall odds to win any prize, however, are significantly higher, when playing Mega Millions (1 in 15).

The biggest Jackpots for the Winners

Since 15 January 2012 the minimum jackpot equals $40 million dollars. The rules do not provide for a cap of the jackpot money, which is why, if not won, the jackpot will roll over until all the six numbers are eventually matched, making it possible to win higher sums than in lottery systems whose jackpot is capped. Each roll over increases the jackpot pool by at least 10 million dollars. Up to now, the biggest Powerball jackpot to have been paid equals $590,500,000, won in May 2013.

Jackpot winners can choose to have their prize paid out as a cash sum or as a graduated annuity, which is paid in 30 yearly instalments. The instalments are annually increased by 4% in order to prevent part of the money from being worn away by inflation. The second prize tier, won by matching five white balls, is $1,000,000 paid in cash. This sum doubles if the “Powerplay” option has been chosen.

The Draw

Powerball drawings are held on Wednesday and Saturday evenings at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The winning numbers are selected by two separate drawing machines, one containing the 59 white balls and the other containing the 35 red powerballs. The drawings are usually held at the Florida Lottery’s studio in Tallahassee. For reasons of randomization, there are two sets of 2 drawing machines each, 4 sets of 59 white balls and 4 sets of 35 red balls. The sets are randomly selected before a drawing.

What you need to know before participating

It is possible to play Powerball in 43 states, as well as in Washington D. C. and the US Virgin Islands. The following 7 states do not have a lottery: Alabama, Alaska, Hawai, Wyoming, Mississippi, Nevada and Utah. The official cut off time for ticket sales is 10 p.m. Eastern Time, with some lotteries discontinuing sales at earlier times.

If someone fails to claim their prize money, the funds in the prize pool are returned to the 45 MUSL members in proportion to the amount they contributed to the prize pool. The lottery operators apply different rules as to how to use the unclaimed funds. Moreover, prize claims must be made where the ticket has been bought. Powerball requires a minimum age of 18 years in most participating jurisdictions. In Nebraska, players are required to be at least 19 years old, whereas in Arizona, Iowa and Louisiana, only people aged at least 21 are eligible to buy a Powerball ticket. The deadline for all money prizes to be claimed ranges from 90 days to one year, depending on the rules of the state where the ticket has been bought.

In California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania and South Dakota, Powerball winnings are subject to federal income tax. In other states, the winningss might also be subject to state income tax, however this is not the case in Florida, South Dakota, Texas and Washington. In Tennessee and New Hampshire, there is only a tax on interest and dividends. Given that taxes are a sensitive issue and that tax law tends to be complicated besides being subject to change, it is recommended that anyone who has won a large sum of money solicit financial advice.