Player Question: Why Do Some Numbers Come Up More Often As The Multiplier?

A player recently emailed us with a question about the All Star bonus option in the Lotto America game, and since the same concept applies to the multiplier option in Powerball and Mega Millions, I’ll cover all three of them here.

The player wondered why the number 2 comes up more often as the All Star Bonus in Lotto America. You may already know that the Bonus option can be added to a play in the Lotto America game for an extra $1, and it will multiply any prize you win. The All Star Bonus is similar to the Power Play option in Powerball and the Megaplier option in Mega Millions.   

The answer to the player’s question is found in the game rules, which are available on our website as part of the details for each game.  

The All Star Bonus option can multiply a Lotto America prize (except the jackpot) by 2, 3, 4 or 5. So, for example, if your ticket matches the five white balls in a drawing but misses the Star Ball, you’d win a $20,000 prize. But if you’ve added the All Star Bonus option to your ticket and the Bonus number that night is 3, your prize will be multiplied to $60,000.

In the Powerball game, the Power Play option can multiply prizes (except the jackpot and the Match 5 prize) by 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 times. And in Mega Millions, the Megaplier option can multiply prizes except the jackpot by 2, 3, 4 or 5 times.

But when it comes to Lotto America specifically, why does the number 2 come up more often as the multiplier? It’s due to the universe of numbers available to be selected as the All Star Bonus. There are 32 numbers in the All Star Bonus pool. Of them, 15 are 2s, 10 are 3s, 4 are 4s, and 3 are 5s. Here is what that looks like in table form:
32 Total Numbers In All Star Bonus Pool
2X = 15
3X = 10
4X = 4
5X = 3

So, does it stand to reason that the All Star Bonus number would come up more often as 2 or 3? Yes. But the other multipliers also have a shot. It’s the same concept for the multipliers in our other big-jackpot games.

Here are the details for the Power Play option in Powerball:
43 Total Numbers In Power Play Pool
2X = 24
3X = 13
4X = 3
5X = 2
10X = 1

And here are the details for the Megaplier option in Mega Millions:
15 Total Numbers In Megaplier Pool
2X = 5
3X = 6
4X = 3
5X = 1

Comments

[Mary Neubauer]

Hi, Kevin. Thank your for being willing to share your thoughts with us! I will forward your comments to our game-planning folks.

[Kevin Pidima]

I think the best bang for your buck in Lotto America is to cover all 10 Star balls giving you 10 chances for $8 because you are guaranteed to match the Star ball. The All Star Bonus for an extra $1 per play is just a waste of money to me. I play to win the Big Jackpot so the 10 plays for $8 strategy is my best bet. I guess if you like to spend an extra $1 per play to most likely double your win, go for it.
One other note about Lotto America that I have addressed before is the unbalanced payout schedule. Star Ball= $2 is Fair, but Star Ball plus 1 white ball is also $2,it should be $3 due to longer odds. Another nice win would be a Free Play for a 2 white ball match, Wouldn't cost the Lotto anything to give a Free Play and it would keep players interest up.

[Mary Neubauer]

Dan: Good catch, and thank you for being a blog reader! Eagle eyes are always appreciated. I have fixed that detail.

[Mary Neubauer]

Hi, Donna. Here is a direct link to the page where you can find the results for our "Joker" Prize Zone promotion:

https://www.ialottery.com/Pages/Promotions/PrizeZoneResults.aspx

[dan king]

Thanks for the info on the power play option.But I think you made a pretty big mistake. On powerball if you get the 5 white balls for 1 million the multiplier only goes to 2 not 3,4,and 5 like you said.