California becomes the 43rd state to join the Powerball lottery when tickets go on sale Monday, giving participants a shot at a jackpot that starts at $40 million.
Heralded on the California lottery web site as "a day when everything changes," California enters the Powerball drawing after the state's lottery commission voted to join the game in November. Wednesday will be the first drawing that includes California ticket-buyers.
Tickets for the multi-state Powerball game cost $2. Drawings occur every Wednesday and Saturday at 7:59 p.m. PT for the jackpots, which start at $40 million.
The jackpot for Wednesday's drawing is estimated at $60 million. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 175 million.
"It's a good thing," said Powerball hopeful Alma Parks. "It gives people something else to look forward to."
Powerball began in 1988, then known as LottoAmerica. The Powerball name was adopted in 1992 and in 2012 the game set a United State record for the largest lottery prize for one winning ticket --$337 million.
Two winners shared the game's largest jackpot of $587 million in November 2012.
Money from sales of tickets for Powerball, SuperLOTTO Plus and MEGA Millions supplement public education budgets in California.