NJ Lottery To Launch Powerball Early In Year

TRENTON —State Treasurer R. David Rousseau and Steven Palmieri, Acting Executive Director of the New Jersey Lottery announced today that “Powerball” will makes its long-awaited debut in the Garden State in the early months of 2010. The widely popular multi-state game will be available at Lottery retailers throughout New Jersey.
“Powerball has the potential to be a terrific new source of revenue for the State,” said State Treasurer R. David Rousseau. “Other State lotteries have seen increased sales as a result of Powerball with very little impact on existing lottery games, and we expect to see similar results in New Jersey.”
“This represents a tremendous opportunity for New Jersey,” said Acting Lottery Executive Director Steven Palmieri. “By introducing Powerball, we offer a new experience to our players, expand and enhance our current network of retailers and generate greater overall revenue for state education and institutions. 2010 promises to be a very exciting year for our Lottery players.”
Powerball is currently available in 33 jurisdictions (31 states plus the District of Columbia and Virgin Islands) with 125 million in population. Mega Millions is currently played in 12 states with a population of 160 million. “By offering Powerball,” said Acting Executive Director Palmieri, “New Jersey Lottery players will have the opportunity to participate in multi-state drawings with large jackpots four times a week. As a result of sales in additional states, jackpots for both Powerball and Mega Millions are expected to increase more quickly.”
Two fields of numbers are used to play Powerball. The first field contains numbers from 1 through 59, and the second field contains numbers from 1 through 39. The Powerball player would select—or Quick Pick—5 numbers from the first field, and 1 number from the second field. New Jersey Lottery players will also be able to choose to have a “Power Play” with their wager. The “Power Play” is a feature which gives players the chance to multiply their potential winnings by 2, 3, 4, or 5 times the original amount of the prize (excluding the jackpot prize and any Match 5 Bonus prizes). Each Powerball wager would cost $1.00, and a “Power Play” would cost an additional $1 per wager.
Drawings for Powerball will occur Wednesday and Saturday evenings at approximately 11 PM. The Powerball player would win based upon how many winning numbers are matched. All current Lottery rules and regulations, including those related to security and responsible play, also would apply to Powerball. Upon the launch of Powerball, complete game rules and an overview of prize levels will be available by visiting www.njlottery.net .