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Jan 4, 2009 8:09 am US/Eastern
Powerball Tickets Now On Sale In Florida
Tickets On Sale Where Florida Lottery Tickets Are Sold
Played In 29 states, District of Columbia & U.S. Virgin Islands
ORLANDO (CBS4) ―
Florida residents and visitors who like to play the state's lottery now have a new option. Powerball Lottery tickets are now on sale in the Sunshine State.
Powerball lottery tickets, which are currently sold in 29 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, went on sale Sunday. The first Powerball drawing will be held January 7th from its new headquarters at Universal Studios in Orlando; previously the Powerball drawings were held in W. Des Moines, Iowa.
A $1 ticket allows players pick 5 numbers from 59 white balls and 1 number -- the Powerball number -- from 39 red balls that are selected in two drawings per week. Picking all 6 numbers correctly wins the jackpot.
"It doesn't get any bigger than Powerball," Lottery Secretary Leo DiBenigno said.
Earlier this year Governor Charlie Crist praised the decision to join the multi-state lottery as one that will maximize sales opportunities for the state's 20-year-old lottery and its 13,500 vendors.
"A key to any business' success is making a habit of being responsive to its customers," DiBenigno said. "Now they'll be able to buy their tickets here."
Florida was set to add Powerball 10 years ago, but the idea was scrubbed by former Governor Jeb Bush soon after he took office in early 1999. Bush believed the game had "debatable effectiveness" and would only hurt the Florida lottery's chances of achieving long-term stability.
The base drawing for Powerball jackpots will start at $20 million. Lottery officials say the average jackpot will should be around $38 million. The biggest Powerball payoff in the game's history was in 2006 when eight workers at a Nebraska meatpacking plant won a $365 million jackpot.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
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