Logo Powerball

Powerball characteristics and rules 

This world-famous draw allows you to pick five numbers between 1 and 69 and a Powerball between 1 and 26. The Powerball may be a number chosen in your first five numbers. Powerball gives you the opportunity to win the jackpot three days a week, and the more time that passes without a winner, the more the jackpot grows!

History of Powerball

The start of Powerball goes back to 1988, when the Lotto America draw began and, later on, changed its name to Powerball. Since then, this draw has delivered millions in prizes among an ever increasing number of participating states and prizes that regularly beat their record in size.

Due to the increasing popularity of the draw, 45 states, the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are all participants, becoming a world-famous game.  

Ways to play Powerball

Powerball allows you to multiply your prizes with Power Play (except the jackpot). For just $1 extra, you can multiply your prizes by up to 10x according to the Power Play winning number. The 10x multiplier can only be applied when the jackpot is equal to or less than $150 million. 

Powerball dates

Powerball holds its drawings every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 9:59 p.m. Central Time. With TuLotero you can play Powerball anytime before the draw cutoff (depending on each state), 365 days a year and 24 hours a day. You can also subscribe to the drawing to never miss a chance to win the jackpot!

Price

Powerball tickets have a price of $2 for each combination of five numbers and a Powerball number. If you also want to play Power Play, the cost is just one dollar more. 

Procedures

In each draw, there are two draw machines involved. The first contains balls with numbers from 1 to 69, and the second contains the other 26 balls, numbered from 1 to 26. The first one extracts five random numbers and the second one just one ball, creating the winning combination and the Powerball number. If you get the five numbers and the Powerball, the jackpot is yours! If two or more people get the same combination, the jackpot will be splitted between the winners on a pari-mutuel basis.

Jackpot and prizes

The minimum jackpot is set at $20 million, and for each draw without a winner the jackpot will accumulate an increasing amount. Powerball has no upper limit! The jackpot will continue growing until it finds a winner.

In Texas, TuLotero automatically selects the lump-sum cash value option for any purchased tickets that hit the jackpot.

Powerball prize table

MATCH        X2 X3 X4 X5 X10
5+PB Jackpot Jackpot Jackpot Jackpot Jackpot Jackpot
5 $1,000,000      $2,000,000      $2,000,000      $2,000,000      $2,000,000      $2,000,000     
4+PB $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000 $250,000 $500,000
4 $100 $200 $300 $400 $500 $1000
3+PB $100 $200 $300 $400 $500 $1000
3 $7 $14 $21 $28 $35 $70
2+PB $7 $14 $21 $28 $35 $70
1+PB $4 $8 $12 $16 $20 $40
PB $4 $8 $12 $16 $20 $40

Fun Facts

  • Powerball holds the world record for the biggest lottery jackpot. The winning combination got a jackpot of $1,586 million and was shared between three winners from different states (California, Tennessee and Florida).
  • In August 2021, Powerball added another day to its draw and is now held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. As a result of the growing sales of Powerball tickets, the prizes have also grown throughout the years.
  • Mavis Wanczyk, a Massachusetts nurse, became the biggest single lottery winner in 2017 with a $758 million jackpot until 2018, when Manuel Franco took away her record, winning a jackpot of $768 million.