Powerball® excitement soars with record $425 million jackpot

Discussion

November 27, 2012

Powerball® excitement soars with record $425 million jackpot

~Lottery players will be lining up nationwide to make history with Wednesday night's draw ~

Submitted Suwannee Democrat The Suwannee Democrat Tue Nov 27, 2012, 05:03 PM EST

Live Oak — TALLAHASSEE - History will be made Wednesday night when millions of players vie for the biggest POWERBALL® jackpot ever offered by the game. Wednesday's estimated $425 million jackpot is currently the largest in the world, and is generating excitement among both the game's loyal players as well as many who will be playing for the first time.

"We are thrilled that this series of POWERBALL jackpot rollovers has generated approximately $45 million in unanticipated revenue for education in our state," said Florida Lottery Secretary Cynthia O'Connell.

Prior to POWERBALL's redesign in January, many players had been asking for a greater variety of significant prizes to be available, while still having the ability to play for the big, multi-million dollar jackpot. The new prize structure appears to be fulfilling that request.

"Moving to a $2 game created bigger jackpots for POWERBALL but also allowed the game to offer a second prize of $1 million in cash," said Jim Haynes, Director of the Nebraska Lottery and President of the Multi-State Lottery Association's Board of Directors, "We expect to create well over 400 new millionaires each year, just from the Match 5 prize".

Norm Lingle, Executive Director of the South Dakota Lottery and Chairman of the Powerball Game Group, says, "The game change has been a great success for the benefit programs supported by lotteries. Sales in the new game are up 35% over the previous year."

In addition to POWERBALL's success for Florida players and retailers across the county, the game also benefits a variety of worthy causes supported by the Florida Lottery - education. In just 11 months time, the new version of POWERBALL has generated $350 million for Florida Lottery beneficiaries.

While large jackpots generate excitement among players, the Lottery wants to remind players to play responsibly and not spend beyond their means. As with all lottery products, players must be 18 years of age or older to purchase POWERBALL tickets.

Since its inception in April 1992 in 15 states with jackpots that started at a guaranteed $2 million, POWERBALL has grown into the world's biggest and most recognized lottery game. Today it's played in 44 jurisdictions across the nation, with players buying more than $3 billion annually in POWERBALL tickets. The biggest jackpot in the game so far was a $365 million prize split by eight co-workers at a Nebraska meat-packing plant in February 2006.

About Powerball®

Powerball® drawings are Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time, 9:59 p.m. Central Time, 8:59 p.m. Mountain Time and 7:59 p.m. Pacific Time. For more information about Powerball® please visit www.powerball.com.

The 44 U.S. lotteries where Powerball is available are: Arizona Lottery, Arkansas Lottery, Colorado Lottery, Connecticut Lottery Corporation, D.C. Lottery & CGCB, Delaware State Lottery, Florida Lottery, Georgia Lottery Corporation, Hoosier Lottery, Idaho Lottery, Illinois Lottery, Iowa Lottery, Kansas Lottery, Kentucky Lottery Corporation, Louisiana Lottery Corporation, Maine Lottery, Maryland Lott, Massachusetts Lottery, Michigan Lottery, Minnesota State Lottery, Missouri Lottery, Montana Lottery, Nebraska Lottery, New Hampshire Lottery Commission, New Jersey Lottery, New Mexico Lottery Authority, New York Lottery, North Carolina Education Lottery, North Dakota Lottery, Ohio Lottery, Oklahoma Lottery, Oregon Lottery, Pennsylvania Lottery, Rhode Island Lottery, South Carolina Education Lottery, South Dakota Lottery, Tennessee Education Lottery, Texas Lottery, U.S. Virgin Islands Lottery, Vermont Lottery, Virginia Lottery, Washington Lottery, Wisconsin Lottery and the West Virginia Lottery.

Powerball is owned by the Multi-State Lottery Association which is a government-benefit, non-profit association owned and operated by 33 member lotteries. MUSL currently coordinates six multi-state games in the United States.