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Powerball Ticket Costs Rising |
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Tuesday, 03 January 2012 |
Beginning January 15, Powerball ticket prices are going up in price from $1 to $2. Lottery organizers are hoping that the bigger jackpots, and the better odds, will entice more people to participate. Powerball seems to be following in the footsteps of scratch ticket games, which have also risen in prices with the chance for much larger prizes.
Rebecca Hargrove, president of the Tennessee Lottery, noticed that the more choices given to the customers the higher the ticket sales were. Hargrove goes on to say that "a family of games at multiple price points created the most excitement. Once those kinds of games were introduced we saw a dramatic increase in sales.” One example of this is ticket sales noted by state lottery officals in Iowa which rose from $125 million to $165.3 million in 2011.
Not only are ticket prices rising, but the odds of winning are also rising due to a change in the numbers that can be played. The Powerball numbers players choose from are changing from 39 to 35, and this will raise the odds of winning to 1 in 175 million from 1 in 192 million. The starting jackpot is also rising from $20 million to $40 million, and the winnings for matching all five numbers, but not the Powerball, is also rising from $200,000 to $1 million. Powerball hopes that these changes will help it stand out from Mega Millions, the other multi-state lottery game. There are 42 states that participate in the lottery, as well as the US Virgin Islands and Washington D.C., and both have drawings twice a week. Powerball and Mega Millions will have some work to do to draw in players that are hesitant to spend an extra dollar in our current economy, but maybe the chance at winning even more money will help to keep people playing. |
