California becomes the 43rd state to join the Powerball lottery today, giving residents the chance to play for a jackpot that starts at $40 million and can rise to hundreds of millions of dollars. Tickets for the Powerball lottery cost $2 instead of the usual $1, and drawings will be held every Wednesday.

This week’s jackpot is estimated to reach $60 million – the odds of winning Powerball are 1 in 175,223,510.California’s entry into the Powerball game is expected to generate $90 million t0 $120 million for the state, some of which would go into education funding.

Is the lottery a fool’s game? Will Powerball money have a significant impact on California schools? Will you play the game?

Guests:
Elias Dominguez, spokesperson for CA Lottery  

Jonathan Kaplan, senior policy analyst at the California Budget Project