The following changes took place October 9, 2002:

Four White Balls Added; No New Red Balls

The first key change that players will notice is that they will choose from 53 white ball numbers instead of 49. The additional four ball numbers will be added to the drum for the drawing on October 9, 2002. The number of red ball numbers will remain the same at 42.
The dynamics of the Powerball design means that, while the odds of winning the jackpot prize will increase from 1 in 80 million to 1 in 120 million, the odds of winning a prize for matching the red Powerball alone will actually go down. The overall odds for winning any prize in the new Powerball game will remain about the same, at 1 in 36. The higher jackpot odds and the increased number of players will mean that the jackpot will climb faster and higher.

Power Play Option Drops The "1"

Power Play allows a player to multiply their winnings on all set prizes (all prizes except the jackpot prize and special bonus prizes) by a number randomly drawn in a wheel spin just before the Powerball drawing. With the new game, Power Play winners will be guaranteed to at least double their winnings. The new Power Play wheel will have 15 slots ranging from 2 to 5, with six "5's" and three each of "2's", "3's", and "4's".

New Match 5 Bonus Prize Feature Shares the Wealth

Powerball players will also see a new, no added cost, Match 5 bonus prize feature in Powerball. Your lottery will announce when the new bonus becomes effective, but watch for it whenever Powerball is estimated to reach a jackpot level that is more than $25 million over the previous record. At these new levels, the jackpot will be increased in increments of $25 million and sales above this amount will be used to create the new Bonus Prize Pool. When there is a jackpot winner, the money in the new Bonus Prize Pool will be divided among the winners of the Match 5 prize level. For some drawings, this could mean enhanced prizes of $1 million or more, in cash.

Annuity Prize Change

Although most players take the cash option, Powerball will now extend the current annuity option from 24 years (25 payments) to 29 years (30 payments). Annuity winners receive their first payment immediately and will then receive a guaranteed return and annual payments for the next 29 years after their win.
For example, even at today's current low rates, a cash jackpot of $125 million invested and spread over 25 payments (24 years) could pay out $217,500,000 with an annual payment of $8,700,000. In the new game, with 30 equal payments over 29 years, a cash jackpot of $125 million could pay out $247,250,000 with an annual payment of $8,241,000. That gives winners nearly the same annual payment for an additional five years.

The first Powerball tickets involving Colorado are scheduled to go on
sale August 2 for the August 4 drawing. Sen. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs,
is trying to sue to get them to not do it, even though we the people of Colorado
voted for it. Tell him what you think at 303-866-4835.

Drawings are televised in Colorado at 8:59pm, on KDVR Fox 31 in Denver and KKCO NBC 11 in Grand Junction.

Powerball is similar to Lotto. You pick 5 numbers from 1 to 49, followed by a "Powerball" in the range of 1-52. There are 9 possible winning combinations, outlined below. The "Power Play" option doubles the cost of your ticket and gives you the chance to win up to 5 times the prize amount (except for the jackpot). Odds for Power Play are listed below. More details on the Powerball game are available at the Powerball website.

Powerball Prizes and Odds

Match Prize Odds

+ Grand Prize 1 in 120,526,770.00 $100,000 1 in 2,939,677.32 + $5,000 1 in 502,194.88 $100 1 in 12,248.66 + $100 1 in 10,685.00 $7 1 in 260.61 + $7 1 in 696.85 + $4 1 in 123.88 $3 1 in 70.39 The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 36.06. The odds presented here are based on a $1 play and are rounded to two decimal places.

The odds presented here are based on a $1 play. There are nine ways to win in Powerball. Return to your Powerball retailer or Lottery headquarters for validation of your tickets.With Power Play, Powerball players can also multiply their Powerball prizes by 2,3,4 or 5 times the original prize amount (for all prizes except the jackpot).

Match 5 Bonus Prize

Whenever the Powerball jackpot reaches a record level, the amount of the jackpot prize is limited to increases for each draw of no more than $25 million. The prize money collected in excess of the advertised jackpot amount, if any, will be placed into the Match 5 Bonus prize pool and will accumulate until there is a jackpot winner. When there is a jackpot winner, the Match 5 Bonus prize pool will be divided equally among all winners of the Match 5 prize. The prize will be paid in one cash lump sum.

The Match 5 Bonus prize is in addition to any Power Play prizes that may be won. The Match 5 Bonus prize is not multiplied. A Match 5 winner who also played the Power Play option will win the original $100,000, the amount paid under the Power Play multiplier option, and the new Match 5 Bonus effective bonus prize. Consider the following scenario: A player matches the five white numbers, another player hits the jackpot by matching all five white numbers plus the red Powerball, MUSL draws the Power Play number "4", and there is $385,000 available for each Match 5 winner as an additional Match 5 Bonus prize for the drawing. This player would then win $100,000 (the original Match 5 prize) + $300,000 (the extra monies created from the Power Play) + $385,000 (the actual Match 5 Bonus) for a total of $785,000. Put another way, the player has his $100,000 prize multiplied by 4, and then he also receives the additional $385,000 Match 5 Bonus prize.


Although it is unlikely, it is possible that no Match 5 winner will exist for a drawing where the jackpot is won and in where a Match 5 Bonus Prize pools exists. In this case, the Match 5 Bonus prize pool will be paid out to the Match 4+1 winners.

Power Play - How It Works
For an extra $1 per Powerball play, players can now multiply their Powerball prizes by 1,2,3,4 or 5 times the original prize amount (for all prizes except the jackpot). A spinning wheel with 12 slots numbered 1 through 5 (there are two 1's, two 2's, two 3's, two 4's, and four 5's) has been added to Powerball's Wednesday and Saturday drawings to select the Power Play number. If any of the player's numbers match the winning numbers and the Power Play was purchased, the set Powerball prize amount (except the jackpot) will be multiplied by the Power Play number. If the Power Play number is "1", the prize amount does not increase.
Prizes Multiply Up To $500,000!
For example, if you bought the $1 Power Play and matched three numbers and we draw the Power Play number 5, your original $7 prize is multiplied by the Power Play number of 5 to $35. If the player had matched 5 white ball numbers, the prize would multiply to $500,000! All Powerball prize levels, except the jackpot, can be multiplied if the Power Play is purchased

Power Play Prizes and Odds