West Virginia Lottery - When to Play
Use this guide to determine when to play a specific game in the West Virginia lottery. This page focuses on the odds of playing any particular game and what I call the "Expected Value" to determine when is the best time to play.
West Virginia
Powerball - Avoid
Based on the odds of playing the Powerball, the Jackpot should be at least $161,134,919 before you consider playing. I do not recommend playing Powerball games because the odds are far too astronomical for you to affect. Note that you can also add to your potential winnings by choosing the powerplay option but this does not increase your odds of winning.
Hot Lotto Sizzler - Play for $1
This game offers you the opportunity to "double down" on your lottery ticket and the state will actually pay you 3 times the prize amount for the non-jackpot prizes. Why would they do this? Well, maybe they have underpriced the prizes. The Jackpot needs to be just over 8 Million dollars to justify playing the $1 ticket and the jackpot should be around 14 million dollars to justify playing the $2 dollar ticket. In other words just buy 2 $1 tickets and call it a day.
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