How Powerball manipulated the odds to make another massive jackpot

How Powerball manipulated the odds to make another massive jackpot How Powerball manipulated the odds to make another massive jackpot At $700 million, Wednesday night's Powerball prize is the second-largest lottery jackpot in its history, and the math is working out in favor of lotto commissions. Two years ago, your chances of becoming an instant millionaire were 1 in roughly 175 million. Now, the odds are 1 in roughly 292 million. Tweaks to the game in October 2015 increased the number of total balls, from 59 to 69, from which players need to pick five. It may seem like a modest change, but the odds of winning the jackpot shot up astronomically.