Powerball calculator

I've been in a calculator making mood lately so just made one for the Powerball lottery, for lack of a better idea.

Please check it out. As always, I welcome all comments, questions, and especially corrections.

Some questions for you:

1. The Wikipedia page for the Powerball mentions a Power Play option, where you can double all the wins, except the jackpot, for an extra $1. However, the California Lottery makes no mention of this option. Is either page in error or do some states not offer it?

2. The California lottery page shows some of the smaller wins slightly above the values quoted in Wikipedia. If nobody hits the jackpot, does some money roll into the lower prizes? If not, why are they higher?

3. Does anyone know how to force displaying a very small number, like 10^-10, in decimal form using JavaScript? It normally defaults to scientific notation for very large and small numbers (close to zero) and I don't know how to override it.

4. Does anyone know how to make JavaScript put commas in a number over 1,000?

5. Does displaying the probabilities in "1 in x" format bother anybody? I never like to express probabilities that way, but that seems to be the norm when displaying lottery odds, plus the odds of hitting the jackpot are 0.00000000571 in decimal form, and I hate to waste a lot of space with all those zeros. I tend to think most Americans don't understand scientific notation, especially those who play the lottery, at the risk of being insensitive.

Thank you.

The California lottery is a paramutual, so their prizes are different. It's a state law that everything wagered there has to be awarded somehow. We had a discussion about it a few months ago. And that's all I know about the specifics.

Quote: beachbumbabs

The California lottery is a paramutual, so their prizes are different. It's a state law that everything wagered there has to be awarded somehow. We had a discussion about it a few months ago. And that's all I know about the specifics.

I actually have all the specifics. But can not post them here as a bitter ex-wide said I am never to be taken seriously.

You connect the dots, darling. A broken heart never heals.

To display the long decimal number without scientific notation, use:

a = 0.00000000571;
string = a.toFixed(11);

You will need to know how many places you want first, though.

I just added functionality for the Power Play. Note how for most jackpot sizes the return goes up for invoking the Power Play. The return on the Power Play alone is 84%, which for the lottery is very good.

Quote: Wizard

I just added functionality for the Power Play. Note how for most jackpot sizes the return goes up for invoking the Power Play. The return on the Power Play alone is 84%, which for the lottery is very good.

Suggest you check if that Power Play "doubles" a non jackpot prize or multiplies it by the chosen value?

Quote: FleaStiff

Suggest you check if that Power Play "doubles" a non jackpot prize or multiplies it by the chosen value?

As I state in the rules, it doesn't multiply the big jackpot and multiplies the 1M win by 2, no matter what the random multiplier is.

Quote: Wizard

Please check it out. As always, I welcome all comments, questions, and especially corrections.

Is that a typo in Rule #2? The red Powerball can be from 1 to 35, not from 1 to 15.

Note the default values for the Calculator Section below the rules correctly show the Largest Power Ball at 35.

Quote: EdCollins

Is that a typo in Rule #2? The red Powerball can be from 1 to 35, not from 1 to 15.

It could be a cut-and-paste from Mega Millions, which I think does have a 1-15 range for its "Megaball".

Quote: EdCollins

Is that a typo in Rule #2? The red Powerball can be from 1 to 35, not from 1 to 15.

Thanks for the correction.