Powerball, also known as the “lottery of lotteries,” is a multi-state, international lottery with drawings held twice a week. Powerball is played in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.
The jackpot for the May 24 drawing was $550 million. Powerball is one of the top three most popular state lotteries in the United States. It is also one of the most popular international lotteries.
Powerball began in 1989 as Power Play, a spin-off of California’s State Lottery. The initial jackpot was $20 million. The first draw was held on Jan. 14, 1990 and the winner was not announced until Feb.
3, 1990. The first jackpot to reach $100 million was drawn on March 18, 2010 and was won by a ticket sold in Florida. As of May 24, 2019 there have been 292 Powerball winners totaling $24.6 billion since the game began.
Powerball has an annuity option that pays out over 29 years with a total payment of $262 million (as of May 24, 2019). The cash option pays out over 30 years with a total payment of $307 million (as of May 24, 2019). Powerball also has a multiplier option that increases the value of prizes if selected by players who indicated they wanted to participate in that feature when purchasing their tickets. For example, if someone selects the multiplier option and their ticket matches five numbers plus the Power Ball number (a “jackpot-plus” number), their prize would be increased by 2X (.
02x). As of May 24, 2019 there have been 456 winners who have selected the multiplier option and won a prize worth more than $1 million (.046x).
