What Do You Win If You Have the Powerball Number?
The monetary prize for matching only the red Powerball is $4. The prize amount for matching both the Powerball and additional white balls increases depending on the number of white balls matched. Those who match all five white balls and the Powerball win the grand prize, while those who match four white balls plus the Powerball win $50,000.
Powerball drawings happen each Wednesday and Saturday night at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time. During each drawing, five white numbered balls are drawn out of a drum with 69 balls, and one red numbered ball is drawn out of a drum containing 26 balls.
The largest possible prize, called the jackpot or the grand prize, is awarded when a player has matched all five white balls as well as the red Powerball. The jackpot amount is variable. Jackpot winners can choose to collect their money over the course of 30 yearly payments, or to receive a lump sum cash payment.
Matching the five white balls in any order without matching the red Powerball gives the player the second-highest prize. This prize amount is $1,000,000, paid in cash in a lump sum. Matching four white balls and the red Powerball wins a player $50,000, and matching four white balls without the red Powerball or three white balls plus the red Powerball yields a player a prize of $100. Matching either three white balls or two white balls and the red Powerball brings a prize of $7, and matching one white ball and the red Powerball or just the red Powerball wins the smallest prize of $4.
The odds of winning any prize in the Powerball drawing is 1 in 25 overall. The odds of matching the Powerball alone are 1 in 55, while the odds of matching all five white balls and the Powerball are 1 in 175,223,510. Powerball tickets cost $2 each.
Players may also elect the Power Play option, which increases the ticket price by $1. If Power Play is selected upon purchase of the ticket, any prize won (excepting the jackpot) is increased. If Power Play is selected, a player who has matched all five white balls receives $2,000,000, and all other prizes are increased by a factor that is drawn during the drawing.
