Beginning Jan. 15, Powerball tickets will now cost $2. Lottery organizers hope the change will draw more people to the game, as the price chance will ensure the jackpot increases twice as fast. The average jackpot is estimated at $255 million, up from the current jackpot of $144 million. Jackpots will start at $40 million, double the current $20 million.
“We know that most folks play for the big jackpots and this game will have more of those more often,” the Multi-State Lottery Association said on their website. The odds of winning the jackpot decrease slightly, with 35 powerballs instead of 39. To balance this, matching five white balls without the powerball will win $1 million instead of the previous $200,000.
