The coronavirus pandemic has affected life in these United States in ways that none of us could have ever imagined. I don't think any of us dreamed that an almost nationwide shutdown would ever happen in America. Much less a shutdown that affected one of our favorite pastimes. No, I'm not talking about sports, I am talking about playing the lottery.

The Multi-State Lottery Association has announced some major changes to the Powerball game. Earlier this year we told you that starting amounts for new jackpots would begin at $20 million instead of $40 million. That has now changed.

The new policy states that starting jackpots and jackpot increases between drawings will now be based on estimated sales and interest rates. No longer will there be a minimum amount of money guaranteed for each new drawing or increase.

As you may have guessed the reason for the changes in the execution of the Powerball game has been brought about by poor ticket sales. Officials with the MUSL do not expect these changes to be permanent and hope to return to normal operations once the coronavirus pandemic has passed.

These new rules will go into effect after the Wednesday, April 8th drawing. By the way, the advertised jackpot for Wednesday evening's game is $190 million. 

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