The Nebraska Lottery hosted a 20th-anniversary celebration for Powerball on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, at the Ferguson House on South 16th Street in Lincoln. The event featured appearances from lottery representatives, honored beneficiaries, and even a mock check designed to look like a real Powerball winner. Powerball lottery

But the real star of the show was the locally renowned Powerball winner that in 2006 earned its purchasers a combined record $365 million, which was a constant subject of careful observance and admiring gazes. The ticket was part of a larger display, put together by the Multi-State Lottery Association, which will travel across state borders in a Powerball celebration tour.

The event, the first of seven planned for the state, coincided with Powerball’s implementation of changes to its system and pricing.

Powerball says the changes increase the odds of winning the jackpot prize and the odds of winning, to one in 175 million and one in 31, respectively. Lowest returns for non-jackpot prizes will increase from $3 to $4. US lottery

Nebraska Lottery Director Jim Haynes said “The changes that (were) made in January will add some exciting elements to the game and allow us to continue to support good causes across Nebraska,” he said.

Neil Watson, public information officer for the Nebraska Lottery, agrees on this and emphasized Powerball’s commitment to its beneficiaries.

“It’s our most recognized game, so it’s very important to our beneficiary funds,” he said. “After prizes, all our money is dedicated to our beneficiaries, so about 25 percent of our budget goes directly to them.”

Mark Brohman, executive director of the Nebraska Environmental Trust, relies on the lottery to fund his organization through quarterly payments, which are then allocated to projects funded by internal grants. He said the Nebraska Lottery and Powerball play a pivotal role in the Trust’s operation by matching the funding it accrues, whether through local or federal funding or donations.

The group, with projects in all of Nebraska’s 93 counties, has a “presence across the state,” Brohman said.

“We put a lot of dollars on the ground across the state. We’ve seen an ever-growing trend, a slow and steady increase.

Some states have seen their lottery and Powerball sales go up and down, but Nebraska’s have been pretty consistent and every-slightly increasing, so we’ve been able to rely on that. We hope to see the relationship or the partnership continue forever. ”

More recently, Nebraska Lottery proceeds began to partially fund the Nebraska State Fair, as the Fair has been receiving 10 percent of all proceeds since 2005.

“They’re catering to Nebraskans,” he said of the lottery, noting that it funds about 50 percent of the state fair’s budget.

“Obviously, we as beneficiaries play an important role in what they do. But their job is also to promote the lottery to the people of Nebraska, and I think this is an opportunity for the public to come in and see what the lottery does.”

Like they say let’s hope this change is for good.