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New Game Facts

December 2008
  1. Sales of the new game start Jan. 4, 2009.
  2. The first drawing is Jan. 7, 2009.
  3. After Dec. 31, 2008, multi-draw wagers on Powerball will not be available until the new game starts on Jan. 4, 2009.
  4. Enhancements in the new game include:
    • Bigger jackpots more often, including average jackpots of $141 million (up from the current $95.5 million);
    • A new minimum starting jackpot of $20 million that will increase by no less than $5 million per draw;
    • An automatic $1 million prize for matching five white balls and using the Power Play feature*;
    • Better overall chances to win and more prizes (more than 3 million additional prizes won per year).
  5. This is the fifth redesign in the Powerball game since it started in 1992.
  6. The Florida Lottery is starting Powerball sales at the same time.
  7. Powerball drawings, starting with the Jan. 7, 2009, drawing, will be held in Florida (location details not yet announced.).
  8. The addition of the Florida Lottery will bring the total number of members to 32:  30 state lotteries, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.  The members are:  Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut,   Delaware, D.C., Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, the Virgin Islands, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
  9. The population of the combined Powerball selling members is more than 125.6 million.
  10. The new game will still cost $1 per play and an additional $1 for the Power Play feature. 
  11. The new game includes four more white-ball numbers, from 55 to 59, and three less red Powerball numbers, from 42 to 39. 
  12. The chances of winning the jackpot go from 1 in 146.1 million to 1 in 195.2 million. 
  13. The overall odds of winning any prize in the game will drop from 1 in 36.6 to 1 in 35.1.
  14. Drawings in Missouri will remain at 9:57 p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday nights.
  15. Players can buy tickets in Missouri up to 8:59 p.m.
  16. Missouri has had the second-most Powerball jackpot winners out of all the members.
  17. Missouri has sold 25 jackpot tickets worth more than $1.2 billion in the past 16 years.
  18. The last time the game was enhanced was in Aug. 28, 2005.
  19. Since the game change in August 2005:
    • 122 players have matched all five white-ball numbers to win at least $200,000
    • 3 of these winners used Power Play to win $1 million
    • 3 of these winners used Power Play to win $800,000
    • 3 of these winners used Power Play to win $600,000
    • 3 of these winners won $853,492 by winning when the Match 5 Bonus prize was implemented
    • 2 of these winners won $667,142 by winning when the Match 5 Bonus prize was implemented.
  20. There are nine ways to win a prize in Powerball:
    Match:  Win:    Chances:
    5 of 5 + PB Jackpot 1 in 195,249,054
    5 of 5 (no PB) $200,000 1 in 5,138,133
    4 of 5 + PB $10,000 1 in 723,145
    4 of 5 (no PB) $100 1 in 19,030
    3 of 5 + PB $100 1 in 13,644
    3 of 5 (no PB) $7 1 in 359
    2 of 5 + PB $7 1 in 787
    1 of 5 +PB $4 1 in 123
    0 of 5 + PB $3 1 in 62
    Overall chances are 1 in 35.11.
  21. Approximately 4,100 terminals in Missouri sell Powerball tickets.
  22. How to play new Powerball
    • Pick five numbers between 1 and 59.  Then pick one additional number between 1 and 39 as the Powerball.
    • Players can win nine ways on Powerball, ranging from the jackpot down to $3.
    • If your Powerball number matches the Powerball number drawn, you win a prize.  Without the Powerball number, you have to match at least three of the other five numbers to win a prize. 
    • The overall chances of winning a prize in Powerball are 1 in 35.11. 
    • Powerball players can also multiply their non-jackpot winnings up to five times using the Power Play feature.  For $1 extra, players can win two, three, four or five times the regular set prize amount.  Players who use Power play and match all five white-ball numbers automatically win $1 million.
    • Approximately 88 percent of Powerball players use Quick Pick to select their numbers during an average period.