The minimum Powerball jackpot will reset to $20 million, which had previously been $40 million. Does that improve the odds to win the big prize?
Powerball announced this week that its minimum jackpot and weekly increases will cut in half after the next jackpot is won. The reason for decreasing the minimum jackpot to a guaranteed $20 million is because of the spread of COVID-19, otherwise known as coronavirus.
The jackpot for Saturday is $160 million. During the pre-coronavirus pandemic, the game would reset at $40 million if there was a winner. But with more people staying at home with shelter-in-place orders and self quarantines, Powerball executives said the new minimum will be $20 million with a minimum rolling increase of $2 million between drawings. "Powerball players in many U.S. lottery jurisdictions are under shelter-in-place orders or recommendations from their governors or mayors, which have affected normal consumer behaviors,"Gregory Mineo, Powerball Product Group Chairman and Maine Lottery Director."Just like other enterprises around the world that are making adjustments, we are making proactive changes to continue to offer the world's premier lottery product." Powerball is a multi-state lottery played every Wednesday and Saturday, and one of America's two biggest lottery jackpot games. Other than the jackpot, there are other prizes that pay from $1 million to $2 million with a Power Play. Tickets are $2, and the Power Play is an extra $1. "We would like to offer support to our loyal players during this unprecedented time," Mineo said."We are committed to being America's favorite jackpot game." The odds of hitting the grand prize jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338, regardless of whether the jackpot size is $20 million or $1 billion—according to Powerball's website. So even though the jackpot sizes will decrease, the odds of buying that winning ticket remain the same.
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