Powerball
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, 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.
The winning numbers are made up of five "white balls" from a matrix of 69 and one red "Powerball" from a matrix of 26, resulting in jackpot odds of 1 in 292,201,338 per play. 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. 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, whereas the lump sum payment, with a cash value of about half of the advertised jackpot, is paid all at once.
Powerball is known for producing some of the largest lottery jackpots in history, including the record-breaking $2.04 billion jackpot won by a ticket purchased in Altadena, California, in 2022.
Powerball members
Mega Millions and Powerball
, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah do not have state lotteries.History
1988 precursor: Lotto America
Powerball's predecessor began in 1988; the multi-state game was known as Lotto America. The game, and name, were changed to Powerball on April 19, 1992; its first drawing was held April 22.1992: Powerball begins
When it was launched in 1992 Powerball became the first game to use two drums. Using two drums to draw numbers from offers more manipulation of the probabilities by simultaneously allowing low jackpot odds, numerous prize levels, and high overall odds of winning. The two-drum concept was suggested by Steve Caputo of the Oregon Lottery. The two-drum concept has since been used by The Big Game in the US, Australia's Powerball, Thunderball in the UK, Eurojackpot and EuroMillions.Through 2008, Powerball drawings usually were held at Screenscape Studios in West Des Moines, Iowa. The drawings' host was longtime Iowa radio personality Mike Pace, who had hosted MUSL drawings since Lotto America began in 1988. In 1996, Powerball went "on the road" for the first time, holding five remote drawings at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. A few weeks later, Georgia became the only jurisdiction to leave Powerball. In August 1996, Georgia joined the then-new The Big Game, then the other major U.S. lottery group. It planned to sell tickets for both games for the rest of 1996; but within days Georgia was removed from MUSL, not to return until the 2010 cross-sell expansion.
On November 2, 1997, the annuity was changed from 20 to 25 yearly payments and the cash option was added.
In 1998, Florida was given permission by its government to participate in a multi-state game. It was set to offer Powerball but in early 1999, new governor Jeb Bush barred Florida from joining since he believed Powerball would hurt the existing Florida Lottery games. In 2008, Governor Charlie Crist allowed Florida to join MUSL on January 4, 2009.
2001: Introduction of Power Play
On March 7, 2001, an optional multiplier was added, allowing players to multiply non-jackpot winnings by up to five by paying an extra $1 per game. A wheel was introduced to choose the Power Play multiplier for each drawing.2009: Move to Florida
With the start of Powerball sales in Florida on January 4, 2009 at its first drawing on January 7, the matrices changed to 5/59 + 1/39. This changed the jackpot probability from 1:146 million to 1:195 million; the overall probability became 1:35.Based on statistical projections, the average jackpot win increased from $95 million to $141 million. Over 3.5 million additional prizes were expected to be won yearly due to the change in probability. The starting jackpot increased to $20 million, with minimum rollovers of $5 million. The jackpot contribution increased from 30.3% to 32.5% of total sales. The Power Play option was modified; second prize, usually $200,000, was given an automatic 5x multiplier, making the 5+0 prize $1 million cash. The bonus second prize if the jackpot exceeded its previous record by $25 million, triggered only twice, was eliminated with the 2012 format change.
The conditions for Florida joining Powerball included a move of the live drawings from Iowa to Universal Studios in Orlando. The three hosts rotating announcing duties from Universal Studios were Tracy Wiu, Elizabeth Hart and Scott Adams. The wheel that was used to determine the Power Play multiplier was retired when the drawings moved to Florida; a random number generator was used until the 2012 format change.
Arkansas became the 33rd MUSL member on October 31, 2009, the last to join before the 2010 cross-sell expansion. The Ohio Lottery added Powerball on April 16, 2010, it joined Mega Millions years earlier, when The Big Game added Mega Millions to its name.
2010: Cross-sell expansion
In March 2009, it was reported that New Jersey, already a Mega Millions member, sought permission to join Powerball. Shortly after, discussions were revealed about allowing each US lottery to offer both games. On October 13, the Mega Millions consortium and MUSL reached an agreement in principle to cross-sell Mega Millions and Powerball. In November, MUSL signed an agreement to start streaming Powerball drawings online.On January 31, 2010, the date of the cross-sell expansion, Mega Millions and MUSL each added lotteries; eight Powerball members added Mega Millions by May. The Montana Lottery joined Mega Millions on March 1, 2010. Nebraska added Mega Millions on March 20, 2010, Oregon followed on March 28, 2010, Arizona joined Mega Millions on April 18, 2010, Maine added Mega Millions on May 9, 2010, Colorado and South Dakota joined Mega Millions on May 16, 2010. The U.S. Virgin Islands joined Mega Millions in October 2010.
Before the agreement, the only places that sold both Mega Millions and Powerball tickets were retailers straddling a border; one retailer on the Sharon, Pennsylvania/Masury, Ohio, border sold both Mega Millions and Powerball before the agreement and continued to be the only retailer to sell tickets for both lotteries.
Illinois joining Powerball on the expansion date, it became the second multi-jurisdictional lottery game whose drawings were carried nationally. Both games' drawings were simulcast via Chicago cable superstation WGN-TV through its national WGN America feed. WGN-TV aired Illinois Lottery drawings nationally from 1992 to 2015 after acquiring broadcast rights from Chicago's Fox owned-and-operated station WFLD in 1988, which took the rights from WGN-TV in 1987. Powerball drawings were aired on WGN-TV and WGN America on Wednesday and Saturday immediately following the station's 9:00 p.m. newscast, with the Mega Millions drawings being aired Tue and Fri evenings after the newscast. WGN served as a default carrier of Mega Millions or Powerball where no local television station carries either multi-jurisdictional lottery's drawings.
On March 13, 2010, New Jersey became the first previous Mega Millions-only member to produce a jackpot-winning Powerball ticket. It was worth over $211 million in annuity payments; it was sold in Morris Plains. On May 28, 2010, North Carolina became the first previous MUSL member to produce a jackpot-winning Mega Millions ticket; that jackpot was $12 million.
On June 2, 2010, Ohio won a Powerball jackpot; it became the first lottery selling either Mega Millions or Powerball to provide a jackpot-winning ticket for its newer game. The ticket was worth a $261 million annuity; it was sold in Sunbury. Ohio's second Powerball jackpot-winning ticket, sold for the June 23, 2010, drawing, was part of another first; since Montana also provided a jackpot winner for that drawing, it was the first time a jackpot was shared through lotteries which sold competing games before the cross-selling expansion, as Montana sold only Powerball before the expansion date.
2012 format change
On January 15, 2012, the price of each basic Powerball play doubled to $2, while PowerPlay games became $3; the minimum jackpot doubled to $40 million, with at least a $10 million rollover for each drawing without a jackpot winner. A non-jackpot play matching the five white balls won $1 million. The red balls decreased from 39 to 35. The drawings were moved from Universal Studios Orlando to the Florida Lottery's studios in Tallahassee. Sam Arlen began his tenure as host in 2012, while Laura W. Johnson served as Arlen’s co-host.These changes were made to increase the frequency of nine-figure jackpots; a Powerball spokesperson believed a $500 million jackpot was feasible and that the first $1 billion jackpot in US history would occur by 2012 Less than three months after the Powerball changes, Mega Millions' jackpot reached $656,000,000 despite remaining a $1-per-play game. The random Power Play multiplier was retired for a set, fixed dollar amount payout. The $25 million rollover "cap" was eliminated.
California joined on April 8, 2013; it has never offered the Power Play option, as all payouts in California Lottery drawing games, by law, are parimutuel. Mega Millions, which became available in California in 2005, offers its Megaplier in its other 45 jurisdictions.
On January 22, 2014, the variable Power Play option returned for multiplying non-jackpot prizes.
In October 2014, Puerto Rico joined Powerball; the first mainly Spanish-speaking jurisdiction offering the game; as of 2016 it had not joined Mega Millions.