Is it worth playing Powerball and Mega Millions anymore?

Lottery is not an invention of the modern era and while it’s been around for quite a while, it is here to stay. Some of the most popular competitions such as the Powerball and USA Mega Millions have changed their rules over the course of time, and not all of the changes were for the better. For the vast majority of players, it is less important if the odds have shrunken or improved because they know that regardless of the changes they are still underdogs. The prospect of winning huge jackpots is alluring enough, but the savvy players would still like to know more about what are their chances to win.

The new Powerball unveiled

Powerball rules have changed slightly but they are just as easy to pick up and given the fact that players have virtually no control over the outcome of the game, many dismiss them as irrelevant. Essentially a player selects five numbers ranging between 1 and 59 and another one called the Powerball which should range between 1 and 39. This means that in order to cash in on the big jackpot, you need to be terribly lucky because the odds of hitting all of the numbers are roughly 1 in 200 million.

It is obvious that one needs to be an incurable optimist to actually count on this money, but given the huge amounts and the minimal implication, very few will let the odds hurts their morale. Powerball might not be a solution for those who need a way to cover imminent expenses, but those who dream about incredible prizes will stick to this game until the bitter end. The new rules made it even more difficult to win, but while everyone instinctively thinks about the jackpot when hearing about Powerball, there are lower prices waiting to be won.

A decent prize even without a ball

For a betting slip to qualify for the jackpot, all the five chosen numbers need to come and also the Powerball. If the latter doesn’t hit, the player can still collect a decent prize and in this case the odds are revolving around the value of one in 5 million. These prizes are won on a weekly basis but the jackpot is somewhat of a rarity and with each week that passes without a winner being decided, the jackpot grows.

The reason for why this happens is that the insignificant odds demand a huge number of tickets to be sold, for all of the possible combinations to be covered. Since this rarely happens the prize pool grows steadily until someone is lucky enough to cash in on the jackpot, and these are the moments that we hear about when watching TV. While the odds of winning are dismal, players can find the consolation in the fact that no one would bother rigging a game that makes players huge underdogs.

Check out $590 million is the new record Powerball jackpot as well.