Power Lotto pot now P51 million

MANILA, Philippines - The jackpot prize of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Power Lotto online game has rose to P51 million after it was pegged at P50 million for several months since it was launched months ago.

PCSO spokesman Larry Cedro said the Power Lotto has not generated enough sales to move the P50 million starting prize upward.

The PCSO announced on June 24, 2008 that they are launching the most exciting online lottery game.

The agency had targeted a P500-million jackpot for its first six months of operation.

The power lotto is aimed at rich players who are willing to bet more than P50 on their favorite number combination. It was originally drawn on Tuesdays but was moved to Saturday.

However, the projected P500-million jackpot did not materialize. Instead another game, the Super Lotto 6/49, has become more popular and last month generated the biggest jackpot ever in the 13-year history of online lottery in the Philippines, amounting to P372 million.

The jackpot was won by a 50-year-old woman and an unknown player from Pasig City who has yet to claim the prize.

To play Power Lotto, a player with a minimum bet of P50 will have to choose five numbers from 1 to 55, plus one “power number” from 1 to 10.

To win the jackpot, the bettor must pick the first five numbers in any order and the exact power number.

Aside from the jackpot, a player may also win P700,000 if he picks the first set of five numbers in any order (5+0); P50,000 for four numbers and the power number (4+1); P8,000 for the first set of four numbers (4+0); P4,000 for three numbers and the power number (3+1); P600 for the first set of three numbers (3+0); P400 for two numbers and the power number (2+1); and P100 for one number and the power number (1+1).

At present, Power Ball is being played successfully in the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Austria, Chile, Romania, Luxemburg, Belgium, Australia, Portugal, France, New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, Israel, Italy and Serbia.