The August Powerball Jackpot Winner is the First of Many

It was not purely a stroke of luck that the Powerball jackpot winner from Michigan had it big. A lot can be said about the recent adjustments in the American Powerball game that made the chances of winning greater. Last January 15, 2012, Powerball experienced some changes in the game mechanics and rules. It was barely a month after that someone from Rhode Island came home with a whopping $336 million. And about six months after that, another winner, this time from Michigan, won the $320 million jackpot. It will not be surprising if another one gets the much-coveted huge winnings in just a few months time. 

AmericanPowerball, which has become a favorite game among many, has become a premium lotto game. It experienced major changes earlier this year and proved to be a great move for a lot of lottery game enthusiasts everywhere. To create more chances of winning bigger jackpots, the cost of the ticket was increased to $2. The slight change in the ticket price paved the way for bigger improvements such as the rise of the starting jackpot from $20 million to $40 million. The jackpots in general increased by a minimum of $10 million every time there is a roll. 

Because of these changes, the chances of hitting the jackpot rose to 1 in 175.2 million as compared to the previous odds of 1 in 195.2 million. The overall chances of raking in winnings also greatly improved from 1 in 35 to 1 in 32. Along with these adjustments are some changes in the Match-5 prize and Powerball-only prize. The Match-5 prize jumped from $200,000 to $1 million and the Powerball-only prize was raised from $3 to $4. 

With these modifications, not very much was changed when it comes to the game mechanics. The basic play style was not altered but you just have to take note that the number of white ball numbers did not change a bit but the number of red Powerball numbers was reduced by four. That means you have to choose five white ball numbers and one red Powerball number. 

Players of American Powerball can continue enjoying the exciting game as weekly draws happen every Wednesday and Saturday night. Every time nobody hits it big by matching the drawn numbers, the amount shall roll over providing a bigger and more exciting jackpot prize.