By late spring or early summer, Middle Tennesseans won't have to make a trek to Kentucky to play Powerball. They will be able to get tickets at their nearest lottery retailer.
Yesterday the Tennessee Lottery became the 26th lottery nationwide to join the super lotto game in which jackpots have exceeded $200 million.
In this game, players choose six numbers, one of which is the Powerball, a red Ping-Pong ball that can boost a player's winnings into the millions of dollars. Players can win at least $100,000 with just five numbers and no power ball.
Televised drawings will take place on Wednesdays and Sundays at 9:59 p.m. Central time.
"The average (jackpot) is designed for $50 million," said Charles Strutt, executive director of the Urbandale, Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates Powerball. Last year, though, the jackpot average pushed closer to $60 million, Strutt said, and jackpots exceeded $100 million on at least three occasions.
Powerball tickets will be sold from the same terminals as Cash 3, another game that starts here March 1 in which three Ping-Pong balls will decide who wins cash prizes of up to $500.
The Tennessee Lottery had a choice between Powerball and the other major multistate game, Mega Millions. Rebecca Paul, president and chief executive officer of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp., helped create Mega Millions in 1996.
Georgia's lottery, which Paul started, offers Mega Millions as its big money game.
In one regard, Powerball won by default to get the Tennessee Lottery as a new player.
Mega Millions wasn't ready to take on the Tennessee business because it is still assimilating Texas into its system and wouldn't be able to make a presentation here for six months, Paul said.
Powerball seemed to have the lead anyhow, in part because it has much higher visibility than Mega Millions, Paul said.
"The high recognition of Powerball is a huge plus for us," she said.
The high recognition factor could work in Tennessee's favor to attract out-of-state players.
Alabama players, for example, already have Mega Millions as a choice in nearby Georgia and Florida, but now have another game to choose from in Tennessee.
The Powerball drawings also take place on different nights than Mega Millions' drawings, which occur on Tuesdays and Fridays, another plus, according to Tennessee lottery officials.
Jackpots average nearly $60 million
By late spring or early summer, Middle Tennesseans won't have to make a trek to Kentucky to play Powerball. They will be able to get tickets at their nearest lottery retailer.
Yesterday the Tennessee Lottery became the 26th lottery nationwide to join the super lotto game in which jackpots have exceeded $200 million.
In this game, players choose six numbers, one of which is the Powerball, a red Ping-Pong ball that can boost a player's winnings into the millions of dollars. Players can win at least $100,000 with just five numbers and no power ball.
Televised drawings will take place on Wednesdays and Sundays at 9:59 p.m. Central time.
"The average (jackpot) is designed for $50 million," said Charles Strutt, executive director of the Urbandale, Iowa-based Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates Powerball. Last year, though, the jackpot average pushed closer to $60 million, Strutt said, and jackpots exceeded $100 million on at least three occasions.
Powerball tickets will be sold from the same terminals as Cash 3, another game that starts here March 1 in which three Ping-Pong balls will decide who wins cash prizes of up to $500.
The Tennessee Lottery had a choice between Powerball and the other major multistate game, Mega Millions. Rebecca Paul, president and chief executive officer of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp., helped create Mega Millions in 1996.
Georgia's lottery, which Paul started, offers Mega Millions as its big money game.
In one regard, Powerball won by default to get the Tennessee Lottery as a new player.
Mega Millions wasn't ready to take on the Tennessee business because it is still assimilating Texas into its system and wouldn't be able to make a presentation here for six months, Paul said.
Powerball seemed to have the lead anyhow, in part because it has much higher visibility than Mega Millions, Paul said.
"The high recognition of Powerball is a huge plus for us," she said.
The high recognition factor could work in Tennessee's favor to attract out-of-state players.
Alabama players, for example, already have Mega Millions as a choice in nearby Georgia and Florida, but now have another game to choose from in Tennessee.
The Powerball drawings also take place on different nights than Mega Millions' drawings, which occur on Tuesdays and Fridays, another plus, according to Tennessee lottery officials.
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