- 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).
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, or the Powerball number. The player wins according to the following:
| Matches
| Payoff
| Odds of winnning
|
| 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. This multiplier is also chosen randomly.
Overall odds of winning a prize are 1:36
|
