Editing Powerball (section)

{{short description|American lottery game}}
{{about|the U.S. lottery game|the Australian lottery game|Powerball (Australia)|other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2014}}{{Use American English|date=November 2022}}

{{Infobox organization
|name        = Powerball
|image       = Powerball logo.svg
|image_size  = 200px
|predecessor = Lotto America
|formation   = {{start date and age|1992|4|19}}
|type        = Lottery drawing 
|headquarters = [[Florida Lottery]] (drawing)<br />[[Multi-State Lottery Association]] (administration)
|location    = [[United States]]
|owner       = [[Multi-State Lottery Association]]
|website     = {{URL|powerball.com}}
<!-- These parameters don't work with this template, but this template works better than infobox lottery, hence the two templates.
|highest     = $2.04 billion<ref name="CNN 2022"/>
|odds        =  292,201,338 to 1<ref>{{cite news |author=Mike Winters |title=Here are the odds you'll win the $439 million Powerball jackpot |url=https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/01/14/powerball-odds-of-winning-jackpot.html |access-date=15 June 2023 |work=CNBC}}</ref>-->
}}
{{Infobox lottery
|name= <!-- Blank since the infobox above exists -->
|launch_date = <!-- Broken: Even if removed, parameter still shows a date in the wrong format for an unclear reason. -->
|operator= <!-- Broken: Even if removed, parameter still defaults to incorrectly showing one operator without a wikilink for an unclear reason. -->
|highest=$2.04 billion<ref name="CNN 2022">{{Cite web |last2= Andone |first1= Aya |last1= Elamroussi |first2= Dakin |date= 2022-11-08 |title= Winning ticket for $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot sold in California, state lottery officials say |url= https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/08/us/powerball-lottery-record-delayed-drawing-tuesday-trnd/index.html |access-date= 2022-11-08 |website= CNN |language= en}}</ref>
|url={{URL|powerball.com/}}
|odds=292,201,338 to 1<ref name="WaPo 2016">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/01/13/how-powerball-manipulated-the-odds-to-make-a-1-5-billion-jackpot-happen |title=How Powerball manipulated the odds to create a $1.5 billion jackpot |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 13, 2016}}</ref>}}

'''Powerball''' is an American [[lottery]] game offered by 45 states, the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]], [[Puerto Rico]] and the [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]], and overseen by the [[Multi-State Lottery Association]] (MUSL), which also manages other large jackpot games such as the [[Mega Millions]]. Drawings are held three times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Time]], at the [[Florida Lottery|Florida Lottery's]] headquarters in [[Tallahassee]].<ref>{{cite news |author=AJ Willingham |title=Inside the hypersecure room where Powerball millionaires are made |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/28/us/powerball-lottery-behind-the-scenes-tallahassee-trnd/index.html |access-date=20 February 2022 |work=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Powerball |url=https://www.powerball.com/about |access-date=12 December 2021 |website=Powerball |archive-date=March 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230324153823/http://www.powerball.com/about |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

The winning numbers are made up of five "white balls" from a [[matrix (mathematics)|matrix]] of 69 and one "Powerball" from a matrix of 26, resulting in jackpot odds of 1 in 292,201,338 per play.<ref name="WaPo 2016">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/01/13/how-powerball-manipulated-the-odds-to-make-a-1-5-billion-jackpot-happen |title=How Powerball manipulated the odds to create a $1.5 billion jackpot |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 13, 2016}}</ref> Each play costs two dollars, but players in some states can add Power Play, which allows players to increase the payout of their winning numbers, or Double Play, which allows players to use their numbers in a second, concurrent drawing with a different prize pool, each for an additional dollar. The official cutoff for ticket sales is 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time; some lotteries cut off sales earlier.<ref name="powerball.com">{{cite web |url=http://powerball.com/pb_contact.asp |title=Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=Powerball |access-date=April 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412000915/http://www.powerball.com/pb_contact.asp |archive-date=April 12, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Powerball's minimum jackpot starts at $20 million annuity. Powerball jackpot winners have the choice of taking the annuity or lump sum cash prize. The annuity is paid in 30 [[graduated payments|graduated installments]] over 29 years with each annuity payment increasing 5% annually,<ref>{{Cite web |title=FAQs {{!}} Powerball |url=https://powerball.com/faqs |access-date=2022-11-27 |website=powerball.com}}</ref> whereas the lump sum payment, with a cash value of about half of the advertised jackpot, is paid all at once.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-10 |title=How many numbers do you need to win a prize in Powerball? |url=https://en.as.com/latest_news/how-many-numbers-do-you-need-to-win-a-prize-in-powerball-n-3/ |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=Diario AS |language=en-us}}</ref> 

Powerball is known for producing some of the largest lottery jackpots in history, including the record-breaking $2.1 billion jackpot won by a ticket purchased in [[Altadena, California]], in 2022.<ref name="CNN 2022"/>