Powerball is rolling out new rules and payouts that are intended to escalate jackpots quicker, offer better odds at winning and raise lower-tiered prize totals that will take effect with tonight’s Powerball drawing.

“That way I’m not playing it too often,” the retired mechanic from Wilkes-Barre said Tuesday after buying a few lottery tickets at the Turkey Hill on North Pennsylvania Avenue. Mega lottery

But changes to the game might change the frequency Jones plays. Powerball lottery

“It’s certainly tempting to play for each drawing because those odds and those jackpots just seem way too attractive,” Jones said.

According to Ann Marie Bossard, co-owner of the Anthracite Newsstand on Public Square, those are the comments that she has been hearing since the lottery announced the changes late last year.

“I think it’s going to be better than it has,” she said. “People love the big jackpot.”

She also said that people are not scared away by ticket prices that are going from $1 for a basic ticket or $2 with the Powerplay option to $2 and $3. Players see that reward as well worth the risk.

Starting tonight, Powerball’s starting jackpot will double from $20 million to $40 million. It will also increase the match-five-white-balls prize from $200,000 to $1 million, the lowest prize for matching only the red Powerball from $3 to $4, and the decrease of the number of red balls from 39 to 35 will increase the odds of matching it.

Now the chance of winning a prize will improve to 1-in-31.8 and odds of winning a jackpot prize will improve from 1-in-195 million to 1-in-175 million.

But, while Powerball ticket prices are going up, the other multistate lottery game, Mega Millions, will continue offering $1 and $2 tickets.

Bossard said she doesn’t think that will last much longer, however.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see some changes. Once they see how well (Powerball) is going, they’ll likely do the same,” she said.

Bossard said she doesn’t believe other lottery games, such as Match 6, Cash 5, the Big 4, Quinto and the Daily Number, will be greatly impacted.

Turkey Hill, one of the state’s largest lottery retailers, is welcoming the changes but isn’t sure what impact they’ll have on sales.

“We feel the Powerball changes are beneficial as it gives our customers the opportunity to play the game with better odds ultimately increasing their chances of a payout. Customers may choose to play more knowing that they have better odds but we have no way of predicting what will happen nor has the change been in effect long enough for us to determine if there will be any changes in customer buying habits,” said company spokeswoman Erin Dimitriou Smith.

For now, it is only a matter of time to see how the changes will affect people’s reaction to the game. One thing is for sure, players of lottery games, like Powerball, will keep buying tickets, maybe less often, as long as they know they still have a chance.