Powerball

The following is about the multi-state lottery game in the United States; Powerball is also a lottery operated in Australia. There is also a PowerBall toy sometimes known as the Dynabee. Powerball is an American lottery operated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), a consortium of lottery commissions in 28 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Official Logo (USA) Official Logo (Australia) Contents 1 Playing the game 2 Odds decrease, payouts increase 3 Largest payoff 4 Fortune cookie payout 5 Participating states 6 References 7 External links Playing the game To play the game, a player pays one dollar and picks five distinct numbers from 1 to 55 and one number from 1 to 42, (the Powerball number). The player wins according to the following: Matches Payoff Odds of winning powerball only $ 3 1: 68.96 1 number and powerball $ 4 1: 126.88 2 numbers and powerball $ 7 1: 745.45 3 numbers but no powerball $ 7 1: 290.91 3 numbers and powerball $ 100 1: 11,927.18 4 numbers but no powerball $ 100 1: 14,254.44 4 numbers and powerball $ 10,000 1: 584,431.85 all 5 numbers but no powerball $ 200,000 1: 3,563,608.83 all 5 numbers and powerball Jackpot 1: 146,107,962 The player also has the option to choose a multiplier between 2 and 5 called Power Play by betting an additional dollar. This multiplier is also chosen randomly and applies to all prizes other than the jackpot. Overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 36.61. Jackpot winners have the option of receiving an annuity prize or a single lump sum cash payment. The minimum jackpot prize is a $15 million annuity disbursed in 30 payments over 29 years. The lump sum payment is typically approximately half the annuity value. The 30 annuity payments are not equal but based on an increasing rate schedule. For example, the first annual gross annuity payment on the base US$15 jackpot would be approximately $267,000 while the final annual payment would be approximately $834,000. Powerball drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at MUSL's headquarters in Urbandale, Iowa, normally at 10:59 pm Eastern Time. Drawings are occasionally scheduled at remote locations; when this occurs, the time may be adjusted, but the day remains the same. Odds decrease, payouts increase On August 28, 2005, the game was modified to provide larger jackpots and faster jackpot pool growth. The main pool of numbers was increased from 53 to 55 and jackpots now begin at US$15 million rather than US$10 million. The Powerball number pool remains 42. Odds of picking the jackpot winning numbers decreased to 1:146.1 million. Overall odds of winning a prize increased slightly to 1:36.61. Some lower tier prizes also increased. The second tier prize increased from US$100,000 to $200,000 and the third tier prize doubled to US$10,000. Largest payoff The drawing held on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 was the largest in the history of Powerball: worth an estimated US$340,000,000, sold to the West family in Jacksonville, Oregon. The family won less than two months after the rules were changed to promote larger payouts. Steve West, who purchased the ticket, put in $20 for tickets, along with another $20 from his in-laws. The family plans to split the prize among themselves. The October payout had a lump sum value of $164.4 million, slightly below the $170 million payout from an December 25, 2002 drawing. One of the secondary winners to the largest payout was New Hampshire U.S. Senator Judd Gregg, who won $850,000 after buying 20 tickets, one of which matched all the numbers but the Powerball. Prior to the $340 million winner, Jack Whittaker was the claimant to the biggest jackpot. Fortune cookie payout The Powerball drawing of the March 30, 2005 game produced an unprecedented 110 second-place winners, all of whom picked five numbers correctly with no powerball number. The total came out to $19.4 million in unexpected payouts. 89 tickets won $100,000, but 21 additional tickets won $500,000 due to the Power Play multiplier option. Powerball officials initially suspected fraud, but it turned out that all the winners received their numbers from fortune cookies made by Wonton Food Inc., a fortune cookie factory in Long Island City, Queens, New York. Apparently, number combinations printed on fortunes are reused in thousands of cookies per day. The five winning numbers were 22, 28, 32, 33, and 39. The sixth number in the fortune, 40, did not match the powerball number, 42. Participating states Arizona Connecticut Colorado Delaware Idaho Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Minnesota Missouri Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Mexico North Dakota Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Vermont West Virginia Wisconsin Also available in: Washington D.C. U.S. Virgin Islands Powerball winnings are exempt from state income taxes in Delaware, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. South Dakota has no state income tax. Georgia left Powerball in 1996 to join The Big Game, another multi-state lottery. References April Witt (January 30, 2005). "Rich Man, Poor Man". The Washington Post Magazine, page 14. Jennifer 8. Lee (May 11, 2005). "Who Needs Giacomo? Bet on the Fortune Cookie". The New York Times. [1] Press release detailing March 30, 2005 payout. usamega.com Powerball Jackpot Analysis External links Official Powerball site Official Multi-State Lottery Association site Search Term: "Powerball" Categories: Lotteries

All 100 Powerball winners identified