** Powerball Changes : January 4, 2009
On January 4, 2009, the Powerball game will change. We are adding some white ball numbers to make the jackpots bigger and we are subtracting some of the red ball numbers to create more winners (over 3.5 million more winners per year at the same sales level). The new Powerball will be a 59/39 game.
The Power Play option will continue, except that we will now always draw a 5X for the second prize (Match 5+0). That means that when you win the second prize and have also purchased the Power Play option, your $200,000 will automatically become $1 million; every time. And this prize is paid in cash. The Power Play option will still offer the chance of drawing the multipliers 2X, 3X, 4X, or 5X for the other set prize levels, but the second prize will never be less than 5X. We know that most folks only play for the big jackpot, but we want to create many more millionaires in the game so don't forget to check your ticket for the other prize levels. The starting jackpot will also be bumped from a guaranteed $15 million to a guaranteed $20 million.
Your state lottery sales terminals are winding down future plays until the game change, but the multi-draw plays will be back after January 4. In very rare instances, we may not be able to pay the stated set prize levels (for example, if you all play the numbers from the TV show "LOST" and we draw those numbers). In that case, the prize pools will go pari-mutuel (like the jackpot) and we will divide the prize pool among all of the winners.
Source: Powerball.com