Powerball manipulated its drawing nearly two years ago – making it more difficult to win the jackpot and leading to gigantic prizes for those who do, The Washington Post reported.
The $700 million prize for Wednesday’s drawing is the second largest lottery jackpot in the game’s history, according to the newspaper.
But two years ago, the odds of becoming an instant millionaire were 1 in about 175 million, the Post said. The odds now have increased to roughly 1 in 292 million.
The number of total balls in play increased from 59 to 69 in October 2015 making it more difficult to win, the newspaper said.
As a result, the game rolls over to the gigantic prizes.
Forty-seven state lotteries participate in Powerball, the Daily News in New York reported. It has been updated periodically to delivery bigger jackpots, the newspaper noted.
If no one wins on Wednesday, the jackpot will likely surpass the $1.6 billion prize as the biggest ever, the Post reported.
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