Powerball Changes
Starting January 15, 2012
A lot is happening with Powerball at the beginning of next year and we wanted to start talking about the changes. We will continue to keep up the discussion through our newsletters, website and inserts in our mailings, so you will have time to digest and make any changes if you choose to do so.
Powerball is raising their price to $2 per ticket. For that:
- The jackpot will start at $40 million.
- The second prize will increase from $200,000 to $1,000,000.
- The $3 prize will increase to $4
- The red ball (Powerball) will be reduced from 39 numbers to 35 numbers.
- The odds of winning the jackpot will drop from 195 million to 1 to 175 million to 1.
- The overall odds will drop from 35 to 1 to 31.8 to 1.
In order to keep our prices the same, we will need to cut the number of powerball tickets in half, so there won't be any changes in what you pay. We will, however, create an option so if you want to increase the number of Powerball tickets to where they were before, you will be able to do that.
You may want to switch to Mega Millions. That game also has huge jackpots like Powerball, but the ticket price will remain at $1. The odds of hitting the jackpot will be almost identical as Powerball, but the second prize, which is $250,000 is about 30% easier to win. And, the fourth prize is $150 instead of $100. So Mega Millions could be a good substitute if you don't like the changes to Powerball. Each game has its own benefits and drawbacks.
Here's what's happening to Powerball Power Play (which we call the Multiplier pool):
The cost of adding the Power Play option will remain the same - just an extra $1. To keep the the price to you the same, we will only have to reduce the number of tickets by 1/3rd. The multiplier will now be fixed depending on the prize. Here are the new prizes when you pay for the Power Play option:
- $1 million will increase to $2 million.
- $10,000 will increase to $40,000.
- $100 will increase to $200.
- $7 will increase to $14.
- $4 will increase to $12.
So, that's about it for now. Give it some thought and if you want to make any changes to your selection just let us know, and feel free to share your thoughts or call us with any questions.
Thanks,
Judy and Andy
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