“Power Play” – Powerball USA American lottery.
Power Play is an optional feature when playing the Powerball lottery. Should a player choose to activate the Power Play option, a multiplier drawn by a random number generator is applied to all prize levels with the exception of the jackpot itself.
The multiplier ranges from 2 to 5, which for example means that a third prize win of $10 thousand could be transformed into $50 thousand, should the number 5 come up in the multiplier draw. It is worth noting that the multiplier for the second prize win, 5 main numbers matched but no Power Ball, is always 5 – so this $ 200 thousand prize rises to a cool 1 million dollars if the multiplier function is active!
Such is the success and popularity of Power Play that similar multipliers have been introduced in other lotteries. The most prestigious of these would be the Mega Millions lottery, where you can choose to play using a Megaplier. The Hot Lotto also has a similar tripler feature which is known as Sizzler.
In 2006 the Multi State Lottery Association (MUSL) which operates the Powerball lottery, replaced on of the 5x spaces on the Power Play wheel which was utilized in those days, with a 10x multiplier. This proved to well received among fans of Power Ball, as the operator guaranteed that there would be at least one draw featuring the 10x multiplier in every month period where this special promotion was active.
The 10x multiplier returned in 2008 and on two occasions the ball stopped in the 10x space. It did not appear in 2009 but after Power Play was moved from a wheel to a random number generator in May 2010, the promotion appeared again. At the time of writing, there has not been a 10x multiplier promotion in 2011 but no one can predict the future… We’re certain that Powerball players the world over would appreciate an option to increase their potential lottery wins in time for the Christmas holidays.
