Possibly the largest lottery in the world, and certainly in the United States, is the Powerball lottery. This lottery is played in 32 different states, which are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, new Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Draws are held twice a week on Wednesday and Saturdays from Universal Studios in Florida.
How It Began
Back in 1988 It was originally called, Lotto America began – Four years later, it changed its name to the Powerball Lottery. One important aspect of Powerball was that it was the first to use a two drum system, which means it has two sets of balls that are drawn. This means players have to choose two sets of numbers and match them to win. With the two draw system, there are several more levels of prize winners. To win at the lottery, players need to match all five numbers plus the Powerball number.
The odds of winning any prize are 1 in 35.
Picking Numbers
Over the years, how numbers have been chosen has changed several times. As of 2009, players pick five numbers from between one and 59, and a Powerball number from between one and 39. Matching all the numbers will win the jackpot. When someone wins the jackpot they can choose to have a single lump sum paid to them, or they can have 30 payments paid to them over 29 years. The minimum jackpot for the lottery is $20 million and if there are no winners, the jackpot is rolled over.