COLUMBUS — Ohio Lottery officials looking to cash in on their new Mega Millions lottery game will soon face competition from a glitzier, tougher-to-win Powerball.

        Officials with the Multi-State Lottery Association, the group that runs Powerball for Kentucky, Indiana and 19 other states, told The Cincinnati Enquirer they will give their game a makeover this fall.

MEGA MILLIONS

Tickets cost $1 and go on sale in Ohio today.     • Drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.     • Gamblers pick five numbers from a pool of 52 white balls and one “Mega Ball” number from a second pool of 52.     • The chance of winning the jackpot are 1 in 135 million. The game offers a minimum $10 million prize that grows until someone hits all six numbers.     • Gamblers win $175,000 if they match all five white balls. (Odds are 1 in 2.6 million.)     • Match four white balls and the Mega Ball, win $5,000. (1 in 575,000)     • Match four white balls or three white balls and the Mega Ball, win $150. (1 in 11,000)     • Match two white balls and the Mega Ball, win $10. (1 in 834)     • Match three white balls, win $7. (1 in 245)     • Match one white ball and the Mega Ball, win $3. (1 in 152)     • Match the Mega Ball, win $2. (1 in 88)     • Mega Millions states include Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.     Source: Ohio Lottery

        The new game will keep its popular name, but will feature longer odds, bigger jackpots and, at times, offer $1 million prizes for gamblers who fall one numbered ball short of winning it all.

        “We're going to do something special,” said Charles Strutt, Powerball's executive director. “We want to create lots of millionaires.”

        That message comes as lottery machines in Ohio and eight other states start spitting out Mega Millions tickets at $1 a pop for the first time today.

        The Ohio Lottery has spent $1.8 million on television ads, radio commercials and promotional gimmicks to pump up interest. An inaugural drawing of at least $10 million is set for Friday.

        With the state budget $1.2 billion to $1.7 billion in the red, Ohio officials are looking to Mega Millions to bring in $41 million in new funds by June 30, 2003.

        Lottery officials also hope Mega Millions will reverse a 5-year skid in player interest and sales. Lottery sales have fallen from a $2.3 billion high in 1997 to $1.9 billion in 2001.

        Powerball's super-sized jackpots, offered conveniently just across state lines in Kentucky and Indiana, contributed to the Ohio Lottery's dilemma.

        Kentucky lottery officials estimate $1 out of every $10 spent on Powerball comes from Southwest Ohio.

        Mega Millions is intended to reverse the tide.

        “I'd like to say we'll be able to pull 10 percent (of sales) out of Kentucky,” said Ohio Lottery spokeswoman Mardele Cohen.

        With a $1 ticket, a Mega Millions gambler faces a 1 in 135 million chance of winning the grand prize. That man or woman is 27 times more likely to die from a bolt of lightning, according to Lawrence Gilligan, a University of Cincinnati math professor.

        These astronomical odds were carefully calculated to produce greed-inspiring jackpots that could reach $500 million. Lottery officials in Ohio predict average jackpots will hover at $80 million.

        Mega Millions' predecessor lotto, the Big Game, offered the nation's largest-ever cash prize, $363 million, in May 2000.

        Officials in Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey and Virginia decided to remake the Big Game into Mega Millions after they convinced Ohio, New York and Washington state to join.

        Powerball officials say they need to make similar changes to compete.

        “Players don't really care about how high the odds are,” said Kentucky Lottery Corp. spokesman Rick Redman. “They just want a big jackpot.”

        Mr. Strutt would not say by how much Powerball's odds would grow from its current 1 in 80 million. He said it won't surpass Mega Millions.

        “We'll let them take the "Toughest Game to Win' title,'” Mr. Strutt said.

        Like Mega Millions, Powerball is adding states. Pennsylvania will join later this year. The South Carolina Lottery also is taking a look at Powerball, Mr. Redman said.

        Mr. Strutt and Mr. Redman said the new Powerball will occasionally offer $1 million second prizes to those who narrowly miss matching all the numbers needed to win a really big jackpot.

        Ms. Cohen said the Ohio Lottery has nothing to fear from Powerball's plans, noting that drawings for the two games don't fall on the same days.

        Mega Millions drawings will be held every Tuesday and Friday. Powerball drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday.

        That way, she said, it's possible for players in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana to shuttle back and forth between states playing two mega-sized lotteries at once.

        “I think it's great that they'll make their game more competitive,” she said. “I strongly believe that when Mega Millions is on a roll and we have a very large jackpot, we'll have people coming here.”

        Ohio Lottery officials also face a challenge from within. A coalition of anti-gambling groups still hopes to win a lawsuit attacking Ohio's decision to join the multistate game.

        The coalition, which includes the United Methodist Church, argues the Ohio Constitution does not allow the Lottery to run games with other states.

        Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Daniel T. Hogan is expected to rule in the case sometime within the next two months. On Monday he refused to stop Mega Millions ticket sales in Ohio until he makes his decision.
       
       

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