Lottery players will have a better chance of winning a prize in Powerball with changes in the game that begin after the Saturday, Oct. 3, drawing.
Sales for the new version of the Powerball game start Sunday, Oct. 4, with the first drawing in the new Powerball game on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Among the changes players will see:
• Overall odds in the game will improve to 1:25 instead of the current 1:32. Players will choose their first five numbers from a set of 69 (currently 59) and their Powerball from a pool of 26 (currently 35).
• The third prize level for matching four of the first five numbers and the Powerball increases from $10,000 to $50,000.
• A 10X multiplier will be added whenever the advertised annuitized jackpot is $150 million or less. Currently, players can multiply prizes (except for the jackpot and Match 5 level) by up to 5X by adding the Power Play option for an extra $1 per play. Power Play numbers will be: 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X and 10X.
Jackpots will continue to start at $40 million. Odds of winning the Powerball jackpot will change to 1:292 million from the current 1:175 million.
Players who use a play slip to purchase their Powerball tickets will need to get a new play slip from a Kansas Lottery retailer to purchase tickets for drawings held after Oct. 3.
Powerball is currently played in 44 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Powerball jackpot for Oct. 3 is an estimated $40 million with a cash option of $24.5 million. One ticket, sold in Michigan matched all numbers in the Sept. 30 drawing to win a jackpot estimated at $310.5 million.
– Information from Kansas Lottery