Powerball: Too Many Winners?

Multi-State Lottery May Lose $400M In Ticket Sales This Year

(AP)  Powerball has been on a roll lately and the agency that runs the multi-state lottery says that may force officials to tweak the game.

There have been 12 Powerball winners so far this fiscal year, which ends June 30th, including six in 2005 alone. That puts Powerball on pace for a record 17 winners this fiscal year.

More winners means smaller jackpots. And the Multi-State Lottery Association says it stands to lose $400 million in ticket sales this year. It may decrease the odds of winning to generate more mega-prizes.

But an expert on statistics says a change might be unnecessary. Drexel University's Bruce McCullough says the randomness of lotteries means "it's entirely possible they would be changing to fix a problem that doesn't exist."

Powerball is played in 27 states, the District of Columbia and the U-S Virgin Islands.