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Powerball lottery starts Sunday in Washington

The Columbian
Published: January 27, 2010, 12:00am

Washington residents will be able to buy tickets for the multistate lottery game Powerball this weekend, making Washington one of the latest to join the popular game.

Ticket sales begin Sunday, and the first drawing will be the following Wednesday.

Powerball is similar to Mega Millions, in which players pick six numbers and need to match all six to win the big jackpot.

But the drawings are on different days: Mega Millions numbers are drawn Tuesday and Friday; Powerball will be Wednesday and Saturday. Washington was able to become a Powerball state through new state legislation and permission from the Multi-State Lottery Association. Neighboring states Oregon and Idaho already have Powerball.

Ten other states are joining Powerball this week, which will bring the total to 41 states, in addition to Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands.

The largest jackpot in Powerball was $365 million won in February 2006, said Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association. He said the average jackpot is $120 million.

Jacque Coe, spokeswoman for Washington State Lottery, said the state hopes to make as much as $30 million a year in Powerball sales within the next few years. She said there is some concern that Powerball will take money away from other state lottery games, but said interest will remain high in Powerball and Mega Millions as the jackpots increase.

The Mega Millions game began in 1992 with 15 states, plus Washington, D.C., Strutt said. Adding new states to the Powerball game will mean faster-growing jackpots. Today, he said, the game averages 12 jackpot wins a year. With the additional states, it will likely rise to 19 a year, Strutt said.

He said the state will get 50 cents from every $1 Powerball ticket sold. The rest of the money goes to prizes.

Coe said Mega Millions is the state’s most popular lottery game.

Since 1982, Washington’s lottery has generated more than $2.5 billion for state programs for education and economic development. Powerball will be the ninth lottery game available in the state.

It costs $1 a ticket to play Powerball. Players pick five numbers from 1 to 59 and one Powerball number from 1 to 39 to win. There are nine ways to win a prize.

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