These Are The Dramatic Changes To USA Powerball Numbers Next Wednesday... But Will You Win More?

Marie Holmes won $188 million at the beginning of 2015, but wins like this are going to get harder without the Silver Lotto System.

There are big changes starting from the Wednesday Oct 7, 2015 USA Powerball game.

A shakeup in the game's numbers means that it will be harder to win the jackpot but easier for smaller $4 or $7 prizes. That also means the jackpot could rise to a billion dollars. Here's why...

I don't think I'll be winning, says Connie Fuller of Mount Vernon. PHOTO: CBS New York

On the 7th the number of white balls will increase from 59 to 69, while the number of red Powerballs will drop from 35 to 26.

Math whiz Walt Hickey says, "“We’ve never had a billion-dollar North American lottery. They’ve had them in other countries, but this might be our first."

He told CBS the new Powerball rules dramatically boost the odds of a billion-dollar jackpot in the next five years.

Walt Hickey says the Powerball could reach a billion dollar jackpot in 5 years. PHOTO CBS New York

“It jumps way up!” he said. “It’s about 7 1/2 times higher.”

But to achieve that target, the odds which have previously been 1 in 175 million jump to 1 in 292 million.

2014 was a relatively bad year for big Powerball jackpots, and spending on the game in New York dropped by 44 percent.

One of the issues is jackpot fatigue, in which players are conditioned to large jackpots.

Lottery officials may see great sales the first time a jackpot reaches a certain level, but the next time those sales won't be matched until the jackpot is significantly larger.

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/news/business/article37349394.html#storylink=cpy

ABOUT THE CHANGES:

Current Game

Players select five of 59 numbers and one of 35 numbers (the Powerball).

Changes Effective Oct. 7, 2015

Players will select five of 69 numbers and one of 26 numbers (the Powerball).

Current Game

Overall chances of winning any prize are 1 in 31.85.

Changes Effective Oct. 7

Overall chances of winning improve to 1 in 24.87.

Current Game

Chances of winning the jackpot are 1 in 175.22 million.

Changes Effective Oct. 7

Chances of winning the jackpot change to 1 in 292.20 million.

Although most of the prize levels remain the same, the $10,000 prize for matching four white-ball numbers plus the red Powerball number will jump to $50,000.

Powerball’s ticket price will remain $2 and the price of purchasing the Power Play option will remain $1.