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Power Play Prize Multiplier Returns to Powerball, Prize Potential Grows as Ticket Prices Remain Same

lotteryJan. 21, 2014. A popular Powerball feature is back for those who like to Power Play their tickets. Beginning with the Wednesday, Jan. 22 drawing, adding the $1 Power Play to a ticket gives players the chance to multiply many prize amounts by 2X, 3X, 4X, or 5X – whichever multiplier happens to be drawn.

The change means $100 prizes can be multiplied to as much as $500 and $10,000 prizes to as much as $50,000.

No changes occur with the game’s odds, number matrix, or ticket price. A Powerball ticket will continue to cost $2 and purchasing the Power Play option will remain an additional $1.

Jackpot and “Match 5” prizes are also unaffected. To win the jackpot, a ticket must beat odds of 1 in 175 million to match all five white balls and the red Powerball. Matching all five white balls on a $2 ticket is worth $1 million and, on a $3 Power Play ticket, is worth $2 million.

The multiplier returns following the two-year anniversary of the new Powerball game that, in place of the multiplier, had fixed amounts for Power Play prizes. Since the new game’s first draw on Jan. 18, 2012 through Jan. 15 of this year, the refreshed game produced 28 wins of $1 million and 2 wins of $2 million here in North Carolina.

The Power Play multiplier will be randomly selected and displayed during each Powerball drawing, held Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. The game is played in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. North Carolina has had three Powerball jackpot winners of $74.5 million to $141.4 million.

Ticket sales for games such as Powerball make it possible for the N.C. Education Lottery to raise money for education programs across the state. To see how more than $3 billion in lottery dollars are making a difference each county, click on the “Where the Money Goes” page on the lottery’s website.