<Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> powerball.com </Td> </Tr> <P> Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands . It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), a nonprofit organization formed by an agreement with US lotteries . Powerball's minimum advertised jackpot is $40 million (annuity); Powerball's annuity is paid in 30 graduated installments or winners may choose a lump sum payment instead . One lump sum payment will be less than the total of the 30 annual payments because of the time value of money . </P> <P> Drawings for Powerball are held every Wednesday and Saturday evening at 10: 59 p.m. Eastern Time . Since October 7, 2015, the game has used a 5 / 69 (white balls) + 1 / 26 (Powerballs) matrix from which winning numbers are chosen, resulting in odds of 1 in 292,201,338 of winning a jackpot per play . Each play costs $2, or $3 with the Power Play option . (Originally, Powerball plays cost $1; when PowerPlay began, such games were $2 .) The official cutoff for ticket sales is 10: 00 p.m. Eastern Time; some lotteries cut off sales earlier . The drawings are usually held at the Florida Lottery's studio in Tallahassee . </P> <P> On January 13, 2016, Powerball produced the largest lottery jackpot in history; the $1.586 billion jackpot was split by three tickets sold in Chino Hills, California, in Munford, Tennessee, and in Melbourne Beach, Florida . </P>

Where does the money for the powerball come from