By Robert Kittle
The Powerball lottery game is making changes that will start with sales this Sunday for Wednesday’s drawing. After the changes, it will be easier to win some kind of prize but much harder to win the Powerball jackpot.
South Carolina Education Lottery Director Paula Harper Bethea says the 45 jurisdictions that play Powerball voted to make the changes in hopes of raising ticket sales when the jackpots are at their $40 million starting level. “People say, ‘I don’t play until it’s $250 or $300 million.’ And I always say to that, ‘Well what could you not do with $40 million?’ So we’re trying to drive sales. We’re bringing down the overall odds. Now you’ll have a one-in-just-under-25 chance of winning some prize.”
Right now, the odds of winning any prize are 1 in 31.8. After the changes, the odds improve to 1 in 24.9.
In order to boost the sizes of jackpots, the odds will get worse for winning those, since some players don’t buy tickets until jackpots get big. Right now, the odds of winning a jackpot are 1 in 175,223,510. After the changes, the odds increase to 1 in 292,201,338.
To change the odds, the numbers you choose from will change. Right now, you pick five white balls with numbers between 1 and 59. After the changes, you’ll choose numbers between 1 and 69. But there will be fewer red ball numbers to choose from, and, since anyone who picks the correct red ball wins some money, that’s how the overall odds of winning improve. Now, you choose a red ball between 1 and 35. After the changes, you’ll choose between 1 and 26.
There will also be a new 10X multiplier on PowerPlay for jackpots of $150 million or less. So someone who pays the extra $1 for PowerPlay and gets numbers right, they can multiply their winnings by 10 instead of 2, 3, 4, or 5.
Powerball player Patricia Niewoehner of Columbia says, “I like the idea of winning the larger amount of money without the jackpot, the increased chances. I think that’s better.”
But player Glen Blackshear of Columbia doesn’t like the fact that the odds of winning the jackpot are being raised so high. “I wish it would stay the same as it was,” he says.
Director Paula Harper Bethea says if the changes do lead to increased sales, as expected, “It will mean, hopefully, more dollars to transfer to education in South Carolina.”
