Powerball
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- For the toy Powerball, see Gyrotwister.
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. Although the MUSL has 30 members, only 26 actually participate in Powerball (24 states, DC, and the Virgin Islands).
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Playing the game
Powerball drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at the 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.
To play the game, a player pays one dollar and picks five distinct numbers from 1 to 53 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: 70 |
| 1 number and powerball | $ 4 | 1: 124 |
| 2 numbers and powerball | $ 7 | 1: 697 |
| 3 numbers but no powerball | $ 7 | 1: 261 |
| 3 numbers and powerball | $ 100 | 1: 10,685 |
| 4 numbers but no powerball | $ 100 | 1: 12,249 |
| 4 numbers and powerball | $ 5,000 | 1: 502,195 |
| all 5 numbers but no powerball | $ 100,000 | 1: 2,939,677 |
| all 5 numbers and powerball | Jackpot | 1: 120,527,770 |
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.
Overall odds of winning a prize are 1:36
Jackpot winners have the option of receiving an annuity prize or a single lump sum cash payment. The minimum jackpot prize is a US$10 million annuity disbursed in 30 payments over 29 years. The lump sum payment is typically approximately half the annuity value.
Jack Whittaker
Main article: Jack Whittaker
Wealthy West Virginia contractor Andrew "Jack" Whittaker claimed the largest jackpot to date on December 26, 2002. The annuity value of the jackpot was US$314.9 million, but he chose the lump sum option of US$170 million, which was reduced to US$113 million after taxes.
But with his fortune has come well publicized troubles. Since his Powerball windfall, he has been arrested for drunk driving and assault, been accused of groping women at a racetrack, had more that US$600,000 in cash stolen from his vehicles, and been the target of an alleged plot to drug and rob him as he was drinking at a West Virginia strip club. Perhaps most tragically of all, his 17 year old granddaughter died of a drug overdose.
Fortune cookie payout
The drawing of the March 30, 2005 game produced an unprecedented 110 second-place winners, all of whom picked five numbers correctly with no powerball. 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 the Wonton Food Inc. 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
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Vermont
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Also available in
See also
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] (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/11/nyregion/11fortune.html?ex=1270785600&en=37bef79604f97228&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland)
- Press release detailing March 30, 2005 payout (http://www.powerball.com/content/pressreleases/show_release.asp?release_id=2113).
External links
- Official Powerball site (http://www.powerball.com)
- Official Multi-State Lottery Association site (http://www.musl.com)