Powerball: The Game Show was a lottery-based game show that aired from October 2000 to September 2002 in some of the jurisdictions

Multi-State Lottery Association

The Multi-State Lottery Association is a non-profit, government-benefit association owned and operated by agreement of its 33 member lotteries MUSL was created to facilitate the operation of multi-jurisdictional lottery games, including Powerball, Mega Millions), video lottery, and instant ...

 that offered the Powerball

Powerball

Powerball is an American lottery game sold in 44 jurisdictions as a shared jackpot game. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association , a non-profit organization formed by an agreement with lotteries. Powerball is a game whose advertised jackpot starts at $20 million and can roll into...

 game. Bob Eubanks

Bob Eubanks

Robert Leland "Bob" Eubanks is an American television/radio personality and game show host, best known for hosting the game show The Newlywed Game on and off since 1966, where he was known for using the catchphrase, "Makin' Whoopee"...

 was the host.

The show was taped at Hollywood Center Studios

Hollywood Center Studios

Hollywood Center Studios is a company based in Los Angeles, California that provides stage facilities to television and movie production companies. Its sound stages, located at 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood, California, are steeped in Hollywood history...

 in Hollywood, California

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...

.

Powerball Express

On the cliff, a train pushed a red Powerball to one of six spaces signifying zero to 600 miles (points), or completely off the board. The balls represented each of the possible spaces (and a 'danger ball' for off the board) were dumped into a lotto machine, and one was secretly drawn. Players were given an offer to take a sure 500 miles and sit the game out, or take a chance on the number of miles drawn. After the first draw, the balls for the remaining possible spaces, the 'danger ball', and a new ball for a 1,000-mile space on the very end of the cliff, are mixed up. Players were opted to either keep their miles or risk them on every draw, but if they were playing when the ball had gone off off the edge, they had lost all their miles. After that game, 50 to 140 bonus miles were randomly assigned to all ten players in order to break ties.

Capsize

Balls of varying weights were added to an on-stage buoy. Successfully added balls were worth 700, 1,500 and 2,500 miles to players who were still in the game during their successful addition (players can sit the game out altogether and receive 1,000 miles, or quit after any successful ball addition), but any of the players who were still in the game when the buoy capsizes had lost all miles won in that round.

The Home Stretch

Players attempted to predict whether the majority of respondents to a poll question answered Yes or No. Each correct answer was worth either 100, 1,000 or 3,000 miles, chosen randomly. After each of the first two questions, the four lowest scorers were eliminated. After the third and final question question, the highest scorer was this week's champion and won $2,500.

Gauntlet

Six or seven players competed in that game. In each turn, two players were randomly selected and the one who was selected first had hit a button which released a ball in a variable starting position. From then on, a ball rolls on a track which led to the basket. Getting the ball to reach the goal was not an easy task as swinging clubs attempted to knock the ball off the track. If a play was successful, then the players stayed alive in the game. If the ball was knocked off the track, then both players were eliminated. If six players competed, then when two of them were left standing, one more turn was played to determine the winner. If seven players competed, then the one who's left standing was deemed the winner. The winner of that game won $5,000.

Capsize

In each turn, two players were randomly selected. The player who was chosen first picked one of eight balls (each of various unknown weights). That ball was placed on the redesigned on-stage buoy. One player then pressed the button which unlocked the buoy. If the ball stayed on the buoy after two swings, they remained in the game. If the ball fell off, both players were eliminated. After each turn, a new ball replaced an empty position at the ball table. Play continued until the last turn was conducted to decide the winner. The winner of that game won $5,000.

Brainiac

This game used a set piece which was designed to look like a futuristic supercomputer. Six or seven players competed in that game. In each turn, two players were randomly selected to take a position on one or the other of the spaces (the "X" space or the "O" space). The Brainiac had then secretly "booby-trapped" one of the spaces as its program predicted they are more likely to choose. Any of the players who had stood on a "booby-trapped" step were eliminated. Any of the players who had stood on the space that wasn't booby-trapped remained in the game, but eventually they would be selected to play again. Players who survived the turn while standing on the "O" space received a "life preserver." If a player with a "preserver" was chosen, then s/he had to put it in a box and another selection took place. Like with the first game (see Gauntlet), if six players competed, then whoever was left standing won the game. If seven players competed, then when two were left standing, one more turn would decide the winner. The winner of that game won $5,000.

Playoffs

Before the playoffs were conducted, one of the remaining contestants were selected in a Wild Card Draw. That person joined the winners of the previous games and had also won $5,000. In the playoffs, a survey question was asked and players locked in their answers in percentages. The two players who came closest to the actual percentage moved on to the next round. The same process was repeated with another question to determine the winner.

Bonus Round

The winning contestant played the bonus round, called "Zero Gravity". A ball, suspended in mid-air by various air jets, was dropped onto a spinning wheel divided into 16 sections, each having dollar amounts ranging from $10K, $25K, $50K, and $100,000. There were four spaces for each amount.

The player may keep what they won, or risk it for a second spin with four spaces each worth $10K, $15K, and $20K, and one each of $25K, $50k, $200K, and $1,000,000.

In the event the ball had landed on the $10,000 space in the initial spin s/he was then automatically given the second spin since that was the lowest amount available. In the second season, only one spin was taken with the dollar values as the same as the second spin in season one; whatever amount the ball had landed on was the grand prize for that show.

Only two contestants have won $1,000,000 over the course of the series, Barbara Edgley from California, Kentucky

California, Kentucky

California is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 86 at the 2000 census.-Geography:California is located at ....

, and Tim Holbrook from St. Cloud, Minnesota

St. Cloud, Minnesota

St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 65,842 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stearns County...

.

Home Players

A home player element was utilized as well. Twenty players from each state (as well as "border jumpers" from surrounding states) who sent in non-winning tickets were revealed during the course of the show; every name revealed won $250 plus additional money equal to 1% of the amount won in "Zero Gravity" (anywhere from $100 to $10,000.)

Cancellation

Due to slumping sales with the scratchcard and low ratings for the show, the show was replaced with Powerball Instant Millionaire

Powerball Instant Millionaire

Powerball Instant Millionaire is a lottery-based game show that aired from October 5, 2002 to September 2004 in some of the jurisdictions that offered the Powerball game. Todd Newton was the host....

in September 2002.