The Powerball drawing is a lottery game that is played in several states across the United States. It is known for its large jackpots, often reaching hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. Here's how the Powerball drawing works:
Ticket Purchase: Players can purchase Powerball tickets from authorized retailers in participating states. Each ticket costs $2 and allows players to choose five main numbers from a pool of 1 to 69, as well as a Powerball number from a separate pool of 1 to 26.
Drawings: Powerball drawings are held twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The drawing takes place at the Florida Lottery studio in Tallahassee.
Number Selection: During the drawing, five white balls are drawn from a drum containing numbered balls (1-69), and one red ball, known as the Powerball, is drawn from a separate drum containing numbered balls (1-26).
Jackpot and Prizes: The jackpot is won by matching all five white balls in any order, as well as the Powerball number. There are multiple prize tiers for matching different combinations of numbers. The prize amounts vary depending on the number of tickets sold and the number of winners in each prize tier.
Power Play: Players can choose to add the Power Play option to their ticket for an additional $1. Power Play multiplies non-jackpot prizes by 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, or 10x, depending on a randomly drawn multiplier. The jackpot prize is not multiplied with Power Play.
Claiming Prizes: Winners have different deadlines to claim their prizes, depending on the state where the ticket was purchased. In most cases, winners have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim their prizes. Prizes can be claimed either through a lump-sum payment or an annuity option, which provides the prize money over a period of several years.