January 12, 2016 - 1:06 PM
CHAMPLAIN, N.Y. - A few facts and figures related to Wednesday's historic US$1.5-billion (C$2.13 billion) Powerball lottery:
Can Canadians participate?
Yes they can! There are no citizenship rules governing the lottery game so Canadians can play (and win!) the Powerball lottery. But they must buy their tickets in the United States.
How much does it cost?
A ticket goes for $2.
How do you win?
All six numbers must appear on the winning ticket. Five white balls are chosen out of a drum with 69 balls, while the red Powerball comes out of a drum with 26 balls. There are subsidiary prizes for other combinations.
What are the odds?
According to the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the game, the odds of having the winning Powerball ticket are one in 292.2 million — the latter figure representing the number of possible combinations of the five white balls and the red Powerball.
Where can you buy a ticket?
Powerball is played in 44 states as well as the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. States where Powerball isn't sold: Nevada, Utah, Mississippi, Alabama, Alaska and Hawaii.
When is the draw?
Drawings are at 10:59 p.m. ET on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The deadline to purchase tickets differs from state to state.
Choices if you win
You can take a lump sum or collect the full amount over nearly three decades.
The one-time cash payment of nearly $900 million would also be reduced by a federal tax as well as state taxes. As some states, including Washington, do not have income tax, the amount actually won would vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Source: http://www.powerball.com/pb_home.asp
News from © The Canadian Press, 2016