Powerball
Powerball logo
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| Formation | April 19, 1992 |
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| Location | |
| Owner | Multi-State Lottery Association |
| Website | powerball |
Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), a nonprofit organization formed by an agreement with US lotteries. Powerball's minimum advertised jackpot is $40 million (annuity); Powerball's annuity is paid in 30 graduated installments; winners may choose cash instead.
Drawings are held Wednesday and Saturday evenings at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Since October 7, 2015, the game has used a 5/69 (white balls) + 1/26 (Powerballs) matrix from which winning numbers are chosen, resulting in odds of 1 in 292,201,338 of winning a jackpot per play. Each play costs $2, or $3 with the Power Play option. (Originally, Powerball plays cost $1; when PowerPlay began, such games were $2.) The official cutoff for ticket sales is 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time; some lotteries cut off sales earlier. The drawings are usually held at the Florida Lottery’s studio in Tallahassee.
On January 13, 2016, Powerball produced the largest lottery jackpot in history; the $1.586 billion jackpot was split by three tickets sold in Chino Hills, California, in Munford, Tennessee, and in Melbourne Beach, Florida.
Powerball replaced Lotto*America in April 1992; Mega Millions replaced The Big Game 10 years later. (See below for the evolution of the name Mega Millions).
Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada and Utah do not sell lottery tickets. In 2013, Wyoming became the 44th state to establish a lottery; the next year, it began, initially offering both Mega Millions and Powerball.
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