How does Powerball work? My state just started playing today.

[Antonia]

I live in SC and today is the first day we can play Powerball. I went to buy a ticket - I have NEVER played the lottery before - and the girl at the store gave me a couple of blank papers with all these boxes on them - the kind that you bubble in the numbers - and said she can't run them through untill 11 p.m.

My questions are these:

1) I thought they drew the winning numbers at 10:59 p.m. tonight, so what is this about her not being able to "run them through" until 11? Would this be for Wednesday's drawing or for Saturday's?
2) These slips of paper with all the boxes - am I supposed to bubble in numbers and take them back to her or what? What about the computer picking the numbers?

I would have asked the girl at the store, but I sent my husband to buy the tickets and he knows less about Powerball than I do. Help!!!!!!!!

 

[Antonia]

Bummmp

 

[jfulcer]

For Powerball, you have to have your choices in by 9:00 on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The drawing is at 10pm here, which I think is 11 pm there.

Maybe she couldn't put the numbers in until after tonights drawing? Maybe the first 'game' you can participate in is next wednesdays. Who knows.

Anyway, you pick 5 numbers, powerball. The number of balls you match, including the single 'Powerball' determine your prize.

There is a 'Powerplay' multiplier you do not pick - it is drawn with each drawing. If you do NOT win the jackpot but yet won something else, and have paid the extra $1 per drawing to include the multiplier, your winnings are multiplied by that number. Let's do an example.

You picked:

1 2 3 4 5 powerball 10


If you matched 1 2 and 3, you would win the 3 ball earnings, let's say it's $20. If you had chosen the Powerplay option and the mutiplier they picked was 4, you just won $80 instead.

There is the option for computer generated picks, if you like.

Good luck!

 

[Antonia]

Thanks so much for your reply. I am a novice at playing the lottery. I think that you are right in that Wednesday is the first game that we South Carolinians are eligible to play.