Powerball jackpot: How to play, where to buy, picking numbers, payout

As the jackpots ballooned, more people have played, resulting in more number combinations being covered, lottery officials say. The prize doubles to $2 million if the player purchased a Power Play ticket, which costs an extra $1 but boosts non-jackpot prizes.

If no one matches all five numbers plus the Powerball for Wednesday’s drawing, the jackpot will continue to grow.

The Powerball jackpot now stands at a world-record $1.5 billion (with a cash option of $930 million), the next drawing is set for Wednesday, but before that the Kentucky Lottery announced they want to show their appreciation to players.

When last week’s Powerball drawing also failed to produce a victor, Powerball frenzy went into high gear. The Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the Powerball lottery, had changed the odds of getting all of the matching Powerball numbers in the fall from about one in 175 million to one in 292.2 million.

Whoever wins will have to pay 39.6 percent of the prize in federal income taxes. Tickets must be purchased no later than Wednesday, 8:59 p.m. CT/9:59 p.m. ET for that night’s record drawing. There were eight second-tier, $1 million Powerball wins in Maryland in 2015, officials said.

The odds of winning the Powerball are 1 in 292 million. People see me say that all the time in interviews and say ‘What do you mean? Why the difference? The larger sum is based on inflation adjustments over the 29 year period, so really this is a draw for the lesser amount. In addition to NY, 43 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, participate in the game. There are online operators who claim to buy tickets on your behalf, but Powerball warns against these unregulated services.

With that in mind, the state’s lottery commission issued a few guidelines Monday to keep the Powerball peace.