Powerball(R) Welcomes the Florida Lottery as Its Newest Partner

The Multi-State Lottery (MUSL) announced today that the Florida Lottery will become the 32nd lottery to add Powerball to its mix of lottery products. Florida will become the 30th state, along with the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to offer the game when their ticket sales are projected to begin in January 2009. Powerball began sales in 1992.

"We are excited to welcome Florida into the Powerball family," said Ernie Passailaigue, Chairman of the Powerball Group and Director of the South Carolina Education Lottery. "The addition of Florida will make this premier game even more exciting for both our existing players and the millions of Floridians that are already familiar with the Powerball brand."

To coincide with the game's launch in Florida, the Powerball Group intends to move the Powerball drawings to the Sunshine State. Powerball drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday night, live at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time and are broadcast to nearly 100 TV stations nation-wide. Currently the drawings are conducted in West Des Moines, Iowa.

"Florida will provide an exciting venue for the Powerball drawings," said Passailaigue. "We are working to update the draw show to take full advantage of this wonderful opportunity."

The Multi-State Lottery Association is a government-benefit, non-profit association entirely owned and operated by its member lotteries. Powerball is the association's best-known game. Other games sold through the association include Hot Lotto, 2by2, Ca$hola, Wild Card2, and other multi-state instant (scratch ticket) games.

The 31 lotteries currently selling Powerball are: Arizona Lottery, Colorado Lottery, Connecticut Lottery Corporation, D.C. Lottery (District of Columbia), Delaware Lottery, Idaho Lottery, Hoosier Lottery (Indiana), Iowa Lottery, Kansas Lottery, Kentucky Lottery Corporation, Louisiana Lottery Corporation, Maine Lottery, Minnesota State Lottery, Missouri State Lottery, Montana Lottery, Nebraska Lottery, New Hampshire Lottery Commission, New Mexico Lottery, North Carolina Education Lottery, North Dakota Lottery, Oklahoma Lottery, Oregon Lottery, Pennsylvania Lottery, Rhode Island Lottery, South Carolina Education Lottery, South Dakota Lottery, Tennessee Education Lottery, Virgin Islands Lottery, Vermont Lottery, Wisconsin Lottery, and the West Virginia Lottery.