Multiplier advisor

The multiplier never touches the jackpot. It only scales the lower tiers — which is exactly why the decision flips depending on how big the jackpot has gotten.

Verdict

Not worth the extra $1

Lower-tier EV without multiplier
$0.321
Lower-tier EV with multiplier
$0.834
Value added after tax
$0.359
Cost
$1.00
Return on the add-on
36% of what you pay

How the decision moves with jackpot size

Multiplier value is fixed. Jackpot value is not. As the jackpot grows, the multiplier becomes a smaller and smaller slice of the ticket's total expected value — so the case for buying it is strongest at a small jackpot, when the lower tiers are most of what you are actually paying for.

  • At $50 Million jackpotmultiplier is 88% of added value
  • At $200 Million jackpotmultiplier is 65% of added value
  • At $500 Million jackpotmultiplier is 43% of added value
  • At $1.00 Billion jackpotmultiplier is 27% of added value

Note: Power Play 10x is only offered when the jackpot is at or below $150 million, and the $1 million match-5 tier caps at 2x in Powerball. This model uses an average multiplier of 2.6x.