Frequently asked questions - Powerball

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1:175,223,510. The odds of winning any prize are 1:32.

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The games are very similar with top prizes available for players who match all numbers drawn. Mega Millions jackpots start at $12 million; Powerball $40 million. Jackpot odds for Mega Millions are 1 in 176 million with overall odds of 1:40; Powerball jackpot odds are 1 in 176 million and overall odds are 1:32. Mega Millions tickets cost $1 per line of play and Powerball tickets are $2. Both games offer an optional multiplier feature: Megaplier for Mega Millions and Power Play for Powerball. Mega Millions drawings are held on Tuesday and Friday evenings; Powerball drawings are held on Wednesday and Saturday evenings.

Each Bonus Millionaire Raffle ticket costs $20.

Powerball tickets are available for sale at 4:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday.  Sales are suspended at each evening at 11:59 p.m for system balancing.

On Wednesday and Saturday drawing nights, sales are suspended at 7:30 p.m. and resume at 4:30 a.m. after system balancing has concluded.

Powerball is played in 42 states, Washington D.C. and the US Virgin Islands.

Power Play is an exciting way to pump up your Powerball winnings.  For an additional $1 per line of play, Power Play multiply your winnings!  

And if you win the Match 5 prize of $1.000,000, and you also purchased a Power Play, your winnings will automatically be multiplied and you could win a cool $2 million without hitting the jackpot*!

Don’t forget to ask the clerk for Powerball with Power Play!

*  Powerball may reduce prize levels for Powerball and/or Power Play, including the Match 5+0 prize, if the number of winners claiming prizes exceeds the available draw sales and prize reserves. 

We do not offer an online or mail-in subscription service. We offer Advance Play through our retailers where you can play up to 26 draws for Powerball, Mega Millions, MatchPlay and Lotto, and up to 91 draws for Cash 5 (13 weeks). Check the Advance Play box on the edge of your play slip. The retailer will ask you how many draws you'd like to play, and charge you accordingly. The same numbers will be played for all drawings purchased.

No. You can match the numbers drawn in any order.

Advance Play allows you to purchase up to 13 weeks of tickets at one time (26 draws for Powerball, Mega Millions, MatchPlay and Lotto, and 91 draws for Cash 5). Check the Advance Play box on your play slip, and then tell your retailer how many draws you'd like to play. The same numbers will be used for all of the drawings you request. You can check your ticket after all your drawings have been conducted and collect your winnings at once, or collect them as you go along. If you choose to collect your winnings after each drawing you win, be sure you get a replacement ticket. Advance Play is available at Lottery retail locations throughout Colorado. 

In Colorado, about 80 percent of purchases are Quick Picks.

Current winning numbers and access to past winning numbers can be found on the home page of our website, You can have winning numbers sent direct to your cell phone or email address when you sign up to be a member of  MyLottery.  Lottery results are also publicized by most television stations and daily newspapers. Lottery retailers can print winning numbers reports for current and past drawing dates. 

Powerball winning numbers

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The Powerball jackpot starts at $40 million, and increases until it is hit when a winner matches all 6 numbers (5 numbers plus the Powerball).

The Colorado Lottery began ticket sales for Powerball on August 2, 2001, with the first drawing taking place on August 4, 2001.  Powerball tickets can be purchased at all Colorado Lottery retailers.

When the Powerball jackpot reaches the largest previous Powerball jackpot amount, the amount of the jackpot prize will increase by no more than $25 million per draw. Any jackpot prize money collected in excess of the increased jackpot amount will be placed into a Bonus Prize pool and will accumulate until there is a jackpot winner. At that time, the money in the Bonus Prize pool will be divided equally among all winners of the Match 5 prize. If there are no Match 5 winners, the Bonus Prize will be divided equally among all winners of the Match 4 + Powerball ($10,000) prize. The Bonus Prize will be paid in one lump cash sum.

The Bonus Prize is in addition to any Power Play prize that is won. The Bonus Prize is not multiplied by the Power Play number.

No. You must either ask a retailer for a list of the winning Bonus Drawing numbers, or check our website for a list of Bonus Drawing winning numbers.

A fixed percentage of every Mega Millions and Powerball ticket sold goes into its CASH jackpot. The cash jackpot is all the money that the lottery has on hand from the sale of tickets in the game. If a player chooses the cash option, then the Lottery will pay the entire cash amount to the winner (less income tax withholding amounts required by federal and state laws).

The Lottery also offers an ANNUITY jackpot option that can help reduce taxes and offers the winner a 100% guranteed income stream over time. The two games offer different types of annual income streams, giving the players more options. If a winner elects the annuity option, then the Lottery will invest the entire cash amount before taxes are deducted. The difference between the CASH jackpot and the ANNUITY jackpot is the interest earnings that build over time. The Powerball annuity jackpot earns more interest for two reasons.

1. The Powerball Annuity Jackpot invests more money for a longer period of time. The Powerball annuity is paid out in graduated amounts (rising by 4% per year to keep up with inflation) over 29 years (30 payments). The annual payments grow larger to keep pace with the winner's expected cost of living. The Mega Millions annuity is paid out over 25 years (26 payments) with equal payments each year. In both cases, the first payment is an immediate cash payment.

2. The Powerball Annuity Jackpot is invested in a wider variety of securities than the Mega Millions Jackpot, allowing more interest to be earned. All of the securities used to support both games' jackpots offer significant levels of U.S. Governmental backing. It is important to understand that the Lottery is invested in these securities; not the winner. The winner has a contract with the states to pay the annual prize payment, no matter what happens to the securities.

Since the two games' jackpots are invested differently, if the CASH jackpots are the same, the Powerball jackpot will pay a larger ANNUITY over time than Mega Millions. If the ANNUITY value of the jackpots is the same, then Megal Millions' CASH jackpot will be larger than Powerball's CASH jackpot. The CASH jackpot amounts present the true present-day values of the jackpots. A winner who wishes to take the CASH jackpot should compare only the CASH jackpot amounts. The ANNUITY jackpot amounts will be important for those winners who plan to select a long-term, fully guaranteed income stream.

No. When we advertise a prize of $100 million paid over 29 years (30 payments), we actually have less than $50 million in cash. When someone wins the jackpot and wants cash, we give them all of the cash in the jackpot prize pool. If the winner wants the annuity, we invest the $50 million in cash to fund the annuity payments. The winner gets the cash plus the interest earned. When you see an estimated jackpot annuity prize, we are estimating both sales and what the market's prices on certain securities will be. The annuity jackpot amount and the cash jackpot amount that we announce are always estimates until sales are final and, for the annuity jackpot, until we take bids on the purchase of securities.

Federal and State Income tax apply to whatever income you actually receive in a given tax year, whether it is wages or lottery prizes. If you take the cash amount (say $50 million), then you pay income tax on $50 million. If you take the annuity (say $100 million), then you pay income tax on the money you actually receive each year. Just like your wages, a withholding amount is required to be taken out immediately. The lottery will send you a W2-G form and you figure your actual tax at tax time.