Powerball players decry ticket price rise

Betting double or nothing it can jack up ticket prices without losing players, the multistate Powerball game is doubling its buy-in to $2 on Jan. 15 and modifying its rules to increase players' odds of winning.

Some players aren't biting.

"I'll play less now," said Eddie Rodriguez, 50, a building super from midtown who plays $15 to $20 a week.

Izzy Badillo, 24, of Queens, said he's "disappointed."

"The majority of people who play are of middle- and lower-class incomes," he said. "I may continue to play, but much less than ever before because I just don't have the money to waste."

But officials say the price hike won't drive players away.

"Our players really like variety and new games and the idea that there are larger jackpots now," said New York Lottery spokeswoman Christy Calicchia, adding that the minimum prize will increase from $20 million to $40 million.

Under the changes, players will still choose five numbers, from 1 to 59, on the top of their game card, but instead of picking a Powerball number between 1 and 39, they'll choose from 1 to 35. Second-place winners will take home $1 million instead of $200,000, and the smallest prize will be $4 instead of $3.

Lottery officials from the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs Powerball in 43 states, estimate that the modified game will increase players' odds of winning the jackpot from 1 in 195 million to 1 in 175 million. That still means you're more likely to get struck by lightning this year than win the jackpot on a single try, according to statistics from the National Weather Service.

Calicchia said New York Lottery officials "don't anticipate" a drop in players due to the price rise.

There might be a slight dip initially in the number of gamblers buying tickets because of the price hike, but that won't last, said Clyde Barrow, a gambling expert at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.

"With the price increase, the payout also goes up, and that's what influences people to keep playing as well," Barrow said.

In 2011, Powerball generated nearly $203 million in sales and more than $83 million in profit for New York alone, lottery records show.

Reggie Johnson, 44, of midtown said the higher prices won't make him cut down. "I don't get discouraged because one day I'm going to win," said Johnson, who is unemployed.

"One day it's going to happen," Johnson added. "I've got that faith."

With Sheila Anne Feeney, Erik Ortiz and Robert Levin