Powerball

This article is about the U.S. lottery game. For the Australian lottery game, see Powerball (Australia). For other uses, see Powerball (disambiguation).

Powerball
RegionUnited States
First draw19 April 1992
OperatorMulti-State Lottery Association
Highest jackpot$2.04 billion [1]
Odds of winning jackpot292,201,338 to 1[2]
Websitewww.powerball.com

Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and overseen by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which also manages other large jackpot games such as the Mega Millions. Drawings are held three times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time, at the Florida Lottery's headquarters in Tallahassee.[3][4]

The winning numbers are made up of five "white balls" from a matrix of 69 and one "Powerball" from a matrix of 26, resulting in jackpot odds of 1 in 292,201,338 per play.[2] Each play costs two dollars, but players in some states can add Power Play, which allows players to increase the payout of their winning numbers, or Double Play, which allows players to use their numbers in a second, concurrent drawing with a different prize pool, each for an additional dollar. The official cutoff for ticket sales is 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time; some lotteries cut off sales earlier.[5] Powerball's minimum jackpot starts at $20 million annuity. Powerball jackpot winners have the choice of taking the annuity or lump sum cash prize. The annuity is paid in 30 graduated installments over 29 years with each annuity payment increasing 5% annually,[6] whereas the lump sum payment, with a cash value of about half of the advertised jackpot, is paid all at once.[7]

Powerball is known for producing some of the largest lottery jackpots in history, including the record-breaking $2.1 billion jackpot won by a ticket purchased in Altadena, California, in 2022.[1]

  1. ^ a b Andone, Aya Elamroussi,Dakin (November 8, 2022). "Winning ticket for $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot sold in California, state lottery officials say". CNN. Retrieved November 8, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b "How Powerball manipulated the odds to create a $1.5 billion jackpot". The Washington Post. January 13, 2016.
  3. ^ AJ Willingham. "Inside the hypersecure room where Powerball millionaires are made". CNN. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  4. ^ "About Powerball". Powerball. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  5. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Powerball. Archived from the original on April 12, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  6. ^ "FAQs | Powerball". powerball.com. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  7. ^ "How many numbers do you need to win a prize in Powerball?". Diario AS. June 10, 2023. Retrieved August 2, 2023.