Powerball® Enhancements Coming in October

August 6, 2015 – The Multi-State Lottery Association, operator of Powerball® the world’s best known jackpot lottery game, will be making enhancements to the game starting on Oct. 4, 2015.           

The improvements are designed to continue to deliver the big jackpots players expect while making it easier to win other non-jackpot prizes. This is the eighth redesign for the multi-state jackpot game since it was created in 1992. The price of a Powerball ticket will remain at $2 per play, or $3 with the optional Power Play® feature.

“Part of the excitement for Powerball players comes from playing for a big jackpot,” said Jill Marshall, Acting Director of the Nebraska Lottery. “The upcoming changes will ensure that jackpots continue to meet player expectations, while offering a better chance overall of winning a prize.”

New Prize Structure (starting 10/4/15)

Overall Odds: 1 in 24.86

Get

Prize

Odds

5 of 5 + Powerball

Jackpot

292,201,338.00

5 of 5

$1 Million

11,688,053.52

4 of 5 + Powerball

$50,000

913,129.18

4 of 5

$100

36,525.16

3 of 5 + Powerball

$100

14,494.11

3 of 5

$7

579.76

2 of 5 + Powerball

$7

701.32

1 of 5 + Powerball

$4

91.977

Powerball

$4

38.32

Here are some of the key improvements planned for Powerball:

  1. The overall odds of winning any prize will improve from 1 in 31.8 to 1 in 24.9.
  2. The prize for matching four white ball numbers plus the Powerball number will increase from $10,000 to $50,000.
  3. A new 10X Power Play multiplier number will be available for drawings with advertised annuity jackpots of $150 million and below. With the 10X multiplier, players have the chance to win up to half a million dollars on an eligible Power Play ticket.

The first drawing for the new Powerball game will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015.

Since it began in April 1992, Powerball has become the world’s most-recognized lottery game. The game is played in 44 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The largest jackpot in the game was a $590.5 million prize won by a Florida woman in May 2013.

The Nebraska Lottery added Powerball as its first Lotto game in July 1994. Nebraska Powerball players have claimed 10 jackpot prizes, including a record $365 million jackpot shared by eight Lincoln co-workers on Feb. 18, 2006.

  • Lyle and Dianne Fleharty of Hastings, $50.1 million, July 30, 1994;
  • Connie Daily of North Platte, $50.5 million (split $101 million with an Indiana winner), Nov. 30, 1994;
  • Donald and Rita Polak of Prague, $8.1 million on April 19, 1995;
  • Greg Klein of Milford, $2.5 million (split $5 million with an Indiana winner), April 24, 1996;
  • Richard and Iris Johnson of Ayr, $18.5 million (cash option on $33 million), Nov. 28, 1998;
  • Marilyn and Charles Anderson of North Platte, $2.54 million (cash option on $10 million split with a Kentucky winner), Nov. 3, 1999;
  • Shirley Brewer of Omaha, $7.5 million (cash option on $14 million), Aug. 26, 2000; and
  • Steven Herber of Omaha, $5.6 million (three-way split of $30 million, $16.5 million cash option), Dec. 22, 2004.
  • Quang Dao, David Gehle, Alain Maboussou, Chasity Rutjens, Robert Stewart, Michael Terpstra, Dung Tran, and Eric Zornes of Lincoln, $177.3 million (cash option on $365 million), Feb. 18, 2006
  • David and Erica Harrig of Gretna, $34.1 million (cash option on $122.9 million split with a Massachusetts winner), Dec. 11, 2013.
Published on 08/06/2015