South Dakota Lottery
For Immediate Release: Monday, October 17, 2005
Contact: Mike Mueller, 773-5770

$200,000 Powerball Ticket Sold in South Dakota;
Match 5 Bonus Feature Triggered By Record Jackpot of $340 Million

Pierre – A Powerball ticket worth $200,000 was sold in Sioux Falls. The ticket matched the five white balls, but not the Powerball, for the Saturday, October 15 drawing and won the game’s second prize.

Those second prizes could be even bigger for Wednesday’s drawing. Because no one won, the jackpot for Wednesday is $340 million – the biggest ever in the game’s history. The record jackpot triggers a feature of the game called the Match 5 Bonus prize pool.

"The Match 5 Bonus feature is intended to spread the record prize level to more players," said Norman Lingle, the Lottery’s executive director. 

Ticket sales normally determine how fast the jackpot grows. Because it’s a new record, the jackpot growth for the rest of this run will be limited to increments of no more than $25 million. Jackpot prize money generated beyond that goes into a new Match 5 Bonus prize pool where it will also grow until the record jackpot is won.

When the jackpot is won, the Match 5 Bonus prize pool will be divided equally between all players who match the five white balls, but not the Powerball, for that drawing. The estimated Match 5 Bonus prize pool for Wednesday’s drawing is $13 million.

"Those second prizes could be worth hundreds of thousands more than usual, and it doesn’t cost anything extra for the player. If you buy a Powerball ticket, you’re eligible," Lingle said.

The Match 5 Bonus prize is in addition to the normal $200,000 prize for matching the five white balls and will be paid in a single lump sum when won. While the Power Play prize multiplier will apply to the usual game prizes if purchased, it will not apply to the special Match 5 Bonus prizes.

Lingle said the Match 5 Bonus feature was added to the Powerball game in 2002, but this is the first time a new record jackpot has triggered its use. 

South Dakota has had 102 winners of the game’s second prize, including Saturday night’s winner, since sales began in 1992.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1:146,107,962. The odds of winning the game’s second prize are 1:3,563,609. Powerball is played in 27 states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands.

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