Starting Today It’s Harder to Win a Powerball Jackpot in NY

Winning a Powerball jackpot in New York just became harder, as new rules kick in starting October 4.

Time Magazine reports that The New York State Gaming Commission, which oversees the Multi-State Lottery Association, has changed rules in order to make the lottery more self-supporting.

In short, your chances of winning a Powerball jackpot went from 1 in 175,223,510 to 1 in 292,201,338. That's a big jump. The jackpots will also now pay out smaller sums to winners.

The odds will change because the lottery has increased the numbers to choose from. In the first set, where people choose 5 numbers, players will now have 69 choices instead of 59. In addition, the Powerball number has been reduced from 35 choices to 26.

One lottery expert, however, thinks that the new rules could mean that there will be the first-ever billion dollar winner. CBS News talked with Walt Hickey, who is a math enthusiast. He believes that because the jackpots are harder to win, it actually increases the possibility that the money will one day roll over into a billion-dollar purse within the next five years.

We want to know what you think. Do you think the change will make it too difficult to win? Or are you more excited about the potential to win an even bigger jackpot?