This may have happened to you recently - You walked into your neighborhood convenience store, went up to the clerk behind the counter,and asked for a Powerball ticket. She printed out the ticket, gave it to you, and said, "That will be please."
? For a Powerball ticket? You may have belief to yourself, "Did the price just increase?" Actually, yes it did. Prior to January 15, 2012, the price for one play was . On January the 15th, the price doubled to per play.
That's like 100% inflation, you might be thinking. Are you surprised? possibly you shouldn't be. Next time you're at that same convenience store, take a look colse to that front desk. You'll consideration dozens of colorful instant scratch-off tickets on display. Take a closer look at those scratch-offs. consideration the varying price levels? Some of them cost just a dollar. However, some of them cost , or , or , or even . Distinct pricing schedules for Distinct scratch-off tickets. So, why then, would you be surprised that Powerball now costs to play?
Lotteries are just like any other goods in the marketplace. You have Distinct choices that you can make in regards to what you purchase. You don't have to buy a Powerball ticket if you're not happy with the price. There's still fullness of other lotto options, including state games and Mega Millions. You could always choose to play those games. However, Powerball gives consumers something that most of the other games don't - Higher jackpots.
With the growth in price of a Powerball ticket, you also get increased jackpot amounts. For example, prior to the price increase, Powerball jackpots started at million. Following the price increase, jackpots will start at million. Not only will the first jackpot start at a higher amount, it will also grow at a higher velocity, production hundred million dollar plus jackpots more commonplace.
For those higher jackpots, consumers have to pay more, hence the price increase. You cannot growth the jackpot of a lottery game without increasing the price or production it harder to win. Powerball was already hard enough to win as it was, so production it even harder would not have been a smart move. increasing the price was a smart move.
So there you have it - Now you know how much a Powerball tickets costs. It costs more than it did before, but you get something for that in return - higher jackpots.
