Editing Powerball (section)

===Basic game===
The minimum Powerball bet is $2. In each game, players select five numbers from a set of 69 white balls and one number from 26 red Powerballs; the red ball number can be the same as one of the white balls. The drawing order of the five white balls is irrelevant; all tickets show the white ball numbers in ascending order. Players cannot use the drawn Powerball to match one of their white numbers, or vice versa. Players can select their own numbers, or have the terminal [[Pseudorandomness|pseudorandomly]] select the numbers (the name for this varies by state, but most are called some variation of "quick pick", "easy pick", etc.).

In each drawing, winning numbers are selected using two ball machines: one containing the white balls and the other containing the red Powerballs. Five white balls are drawn from the first machine and the red ball from the second machine. Games matching at least three white balls or the red Powerball win.

Two identical machines are used for each drawing, randomly selected from four sets. Originally, the model of machine was the Criterion, manufactured by Beitel Lottery Products (as was the previous Lotto America machines), however since 1999, the model of machine used is the Halogen, manufactured by Smartplay International of [[Edgewater Park, New Jersey]]. There are eight ball sets (four of each color); one set of each color is randomly selected before a drawing. The balls are mixed by a turntable at the bottom of the machine that propels the balls around the chamber. When the machine selects a ball, the turntable slows to catch it, sends it up the shaft, and then down the rail to the display. (The Florida Lottery was considering switching to a [[random number generator]] in 2019 for its in-state drawings; it is unknown whether Powerball was affected.) If the onsite location is unavailable, as was the case during [[Hurricane Michael]] and again during [[Hurricane Helene]], a backup machine is located at MUSL headquarters in Iowa.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/10/10/hurricane-michael-ran-million-powerball-drawing-out-town| title = Powerball drawing: Jackpot now $314 million after nobody had the winning numbers Wednesday - The Washington Post| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> The drawings are supervised by Carroll & Company, CPA’s.

The double matrices and probabilities in the game's history:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Starting date
!Pick 5 White Balls from Field of
!Pick 1 Red Ball from Field of
!Jackpot chance
!''Power Play'' multiplier
|-
|April 22, 1992
| style="text-align:center;"|45
| style="text-align:center;"|45
| style="text-align:center;"|1:54,979,154
| style="text-align:center;"|None†
|-
|November 5, 1997
| style="text-align:center;"|49
| style="text-align:center;"|42
| style="text-align:center;"|1:80,089,127
| style="text-align:center;"|None†
|-
|March 7, 2001
| style="text-align:center;"|49
| style="text-align:center;"|42
| style="text-align:center;"|1:80,089,127
| style="text-align:center;"|1×-5×
|-
|October 9, 2002
| style="text-align:center;"|53
| style="text-align:center;"|42
| style="text-align:center;"|1:120,526,769
| style="text-align:center;"|2×-5×
|-
|August 28, 2005
| style="text-align:center;"|55
| style="text-align:center;"|42
| style="text-align:center;"|1:146,107,961
| style="text-align:center;"|2×-5×
|-
|January 7, 2009
| style="text-align:center;"|59
| style="text-align:center;"|39
| style="text-align:center;"|1:195,249,054
| style="text-align:center;"|2×-5×
|-
|January 15, 2012
| style="text-align:center;"|59
| style="text-align:center;"|35
| style="text-align:center;"|1:175,223,510
| style="text-align:center;"|None
|-
|January 19, 2014
| style="text-align:center;"|59
| style="text-align:center;"|35
| style="text-align:center;"|1:175,223,510
| style="text-align:center;"|2×-5×
|-
|October 7, 2015<ref name="cnbc2015">[https://nddb.coop/ccnddb/1024 Odds are, you won't like this Powerball story] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101072316/https://nddb.coop/ccnddb/1024 |date=November 1, 2019 }}{{Retrieved | access-date=2015-07-09}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|69
| style="text-align:center;"|26
| style="text-align:center;"|1:292,201,338
| style="text-align:center;"|2×-5×; 10×‡
|}

†''Power Play'' was introduced in 2001.<br />
‡10× available if jackpot is under $150 million.<ref name=LotteryWorld2015/>

While Mega Millions and Powerball each have similar jackpot odds despite having a different double matrix (Mega Millions is 5/70&nbsp;+&nbsp;1/25), since Powerball is $2 per play, it now takes $584,402,676 (not counting Power Play side bets) on average to produce a jackpot-winning ticket.