The 9 ways of winning the Powerball

Powerball is a cash Jackpot game with draws held every Wednesday and Saturday night at 10.59 pm EST. Powerball tickets cost a mere $2 plus an additional $1 for powerplay. Though the lottery is very simple many people are not aware of how it works. Most new players tend to buy tickets just to try their luck out or wish to know what the buzz is all about. Powerball is one of the most popular forms of lottery in America with the weekly draw turning into a national event of sorts. Many first time winners were novice players who had to confirm with family and friends whether they have actually won.

For those who are new to Powerball we suggest you first buy a ticket as it does not cost much at all however the payouts are huge. With the jackpot amounting to millions of dollars. On November 28th 2012 a record Powerball of 587 million was won which was split between two tickets.

The draw includes four different machines made up of two drums each. Two machines are randomly picked and tested. The draws are tested four times to ensure everything is working well. The actual draw is not announced until it has been audited by an accounting firm to ensure fair play. One of the drums in the machine contains 59 white balls and the other has 35 red powerballs. The winning number is made up of five white numbers from the first machine and a single red Powerball from the other drum.

As a player you need to pick five white numbers and a single red number. You can also choose to use quick pick or easy pick where the terminal will randomly pick the numbers for your lottery ticket. Once you have your tickets you need to tune in to watch the telecast of the drawing and need to match the five white numbers and the single red number. The order of the numbers does not matter, if you match the five white numbers and the single red number in any order you will be rich to say the least.

However that is not the only way to win with a lottery. Besides the jackpot there are number of other prizes each lower in cash payout than the other. For instance

·         If you match the five white numbers with the numbers on your ticket you win $1,000,000

·         If you match any four white number and the red number you win $10,000

·         Four white numbers matched or three white and the red number will win you $100

·         Three white numbers or two white and the red number matched will win you $7

·         One white number and one red number or the red Powerball number matched will win you $4.

Once you win you have the option to cash out the amount or annuitized prize paid over 29 years through 30 payments.

Biggest American Jackpot Records

Lottery tickets are considered by many as the all access pass on the road to wealth. It is one of the easiest ways for you to earn thousands and even millions of dollars. Unlike gambling there is very little chance to rig the system and everybody who holds a lottery ticket has an equal chance of hitting the jackpot. Over the years lottery tickets have changed lives not only in America but around the globe. Real people winning real money which has the power to improve their life.  The biggest jackpot ever won in all time history was $ 940 million through the Spanish Christmas Lottery. Mentioned here are some of the Biggest American Jackpot records.

A point to be noted is that the actual jackpot is not the amount which is taken home by the winner. Based on the amount the winner would need to pay tax to the IRS. The amount could be 25% or more of the jackpot being paid as taxes which puts a significant dent on the huge winning checks that the winners seem to pose with.

The biggest Jackpot record is held by Mega Millions lottery ticket holder with Powerball winners snapping at the heel of the record this year. The official record for biggest American jackpot is $666 Million which might seem like a bad number however the winners are not complaining. The actual cash payout was $475 million and the prize money was split between three ticket holders from Kansas, Illinois and Maryland respectively. The jackpot was won on March 30th 2012.

The second place goes to a Powerball Jackpot. $587.5 million was the jackpot amount won by two Powerball ticket holders in Arizona and Missouri. The actual cash payout was $384.7 million which remains the second highest jackpot ever won in America. This jackpot was won on November 28th 2012.

The $400 million Jackpot with a cash payout of $233 million was won on March 6 2007. The prize money was split between two tickets in Georgia and New Jersey.

A $380 Million Jackpot is a close fourth and was won on January 4 2011. The cash payout was for $ 240 million actually making it the third biggest jackpot in American history.

The next biggest lottery jackpot was not actually cashed and remains the highest annuity prize ever won. Powerball ticket holders have an option to either cash the winning or receive the winning amount over 29 years through 30 payments. The prize money was $ 365 million and was won on February 18 2006 by a lottery ticket holder in Nebraska.

$363 million was won by a ticket holder in Nebraska on May 9 2000. This was back when Mega Millions was known as “The Big Game” before the name was changed.

$340 Million was won on October 19 2005 in Oregon with a cash payout of $ 164 million which was shared by two families who bought a Powerball lottery ticket.

History of Powerball

Powerball the now famous American lottery game first began in 1988 under the name Lotto America. The name was later changed in 1992 to what we all know today as Powerball. The draw is held every Wednesday and Saturday night at 10.59 pm EST and a ticket costs $2 with a powerplay option for $3. The aim for a player is to match the five white ball numbers and the red Powerball to win the jackpot. A player can still win an amount at any time if they match the red Powerball number. There are nine different ways in which you can win the game other than the jackpot.

Powerball tickets are sold in 44 jurisdictions with California set to join in April 2013. Powerball was the first to introduce the system of picking numbers from a spinning ball. There are four identical machines from which two are randomly selected to obtain the winning numbers. This format has since been adopted by many other lottery games around the world however was pioneered by Powerball.

The Powerball drawings are broadcast live to a TV audience and eminent radio personality Mike Pace from Iowa has been the host since the Lotto America days. The drawings were also held remotely at the summer Olympics in Atlanta. Sam Arlem is the new host after drawings was moved from Universal studios in Orlando to Florida Lottery’s high-tech studio.

The 44 jurisdictions which now sell Powerball lottery tickets were added to the list gradually as the popularity of the game increased. To keep up with the changing time and to make things more interesting the game has witnessed a number of changes since its inception. The latest game change was on January 18th 2012 whereby jackpots begin at $40 million, Match 5 prize was changed to $1 Million cash and Power play prizes are now set dollar values. The price of each play was also increased to $2 per play and an additional $1 for Power play.

Over the years with increased popularity the game matrix has also changed which has lowered the odds of winning however has significantly increased the winning amount. This has truly changed the game in to a game of fortune where anybody and everybody has an equal chance of a win. The overall odds of winning a prize according to the present matrix are 1 in 31.85.

Cross sell expansion was allowed in 2010 prior to which each jurisdiction had to choose either from Powerball or Mega Millions. The agreement was signed on October 13 2009 allowing jurisdictions to cross sell. California is the only jurisdiction which sells Mega Millions and not Powerball however is set to begin selling Powerball tickets in April 2013.

Powerball has truly soared in popularity to turn into a weekly national event with players glued to their television on the day of drawings with the hope to win.

You may have noticed that there has been a few changes to the site over the last few days. I'm trying to focus the content, tidy up the site, and provide and interactive environment for everyone. Eventually this will include an open forum for discussion with like minded people.

I'm also hoping to add an interactive playable arcade for people to enjoy many slot games in demo and real play modes, using Sky's trusted gaming network.
You can try out the first of what I hope to be many slot games here: MONOPOLY
This is a new game from Sky Vegas which is available to play for real money or in demo mode which provide £3000 worth of 'fun' credits. Don't worry if you spend it all, just refresh the page to try again.

This is actually a great new game with some interesting concepts. The minimum stake is a hefty £30 a spin! So if you are going to play it at those types of stakes, I would suggest watching the video and playing in demo mode for a while first.
I hope to add more games in the near future, where the real money stakes would be closer to, or less than what you would expect in a real world arcade or bookie. But try this one for now, and like always, let me know what you think and if you have any comments or suggestions, then please let me know.

The forum is open in test mode, so feel free to poke around, try out the features, and post any comments. Have a look here: FORUM

There is a new mailing list which is free to subscribe to. Simply fill in your details below to be informed of updates as they happen.
This is spam free and will not be shared with anyone ever. The mailing list will include guides and important news and machine updates.

BetFred is currently running a nationwide Rainbow Riches tournament.

Running for ten days from the 8th to the 17th of August, BetFred's Rainbow Riches tournament has a national prize of £25,000.
The free to enter tournament starts each player with £50, and three minutes with which to win £500 or more. So unlike their normal monthly tournaments, this one you need a minimum of £500, which can be a jackpot, or a combined total of wins. 
If you reach £500, collect the ticket to move to the next round as any less will award you with nothing.
The next, and final round is on the 18th of August, whereupon each of the £500 winners from the first round will be given £100 in tournament funds, and five minutes with which to play.
The winner of the final round wins a massive £25,000 all to themselves. 

The best playing strategy would be to gamble everything for the jackpot, as the short time limit doesn't make it worthwhile collecting prizes.
The maximum stake is £1, so no £2 or mega spins in the tournament, and the pots are all on their minimums (£250 for gold). 
You can enter once per day, and up to ten times in total. The first round runs throughout the day.

How did I get on?
Three minutes allowed me to spend roughly £20's worth of the credits, this was without been offered any features.
The best gamble was 50p which I managed to reach £75 whereupon it lost for £150.
I'm going to try every day for the entire ten days, so I'll update if anything exciting happens.
Have you had a try? How did you get on?