Hoping to win the Powerball jackpot? Lottery officials just made the odds even tougher.

Powerball winners of yesteryear, rejoice: The odds were ever in your favor.

Starting October 7, that will no longer be the case for people playing the popular lottery game, thanks to a Monday change by New York's Gaming Commission, The Buffalo News reports.

Powerball players select numbers from two lines of possibilities. Up until now, the first line's field size has been 59 numbers, and the second has been 35 numbers. Officials changed the top field to a larger 69 numbers, and the bottom to a lower 26. So, people will have a better chance of guessing one number in the bottom field correctly, but picking all five correct numbers in the top field will be harder. The net effect, officials say, will be more partial winners — but fewer jackpot payouts. The odds of winning $1 million for correctly guessing the top five numbers and one bottom number will be 1 in 11.7 million, down from 1 in 5.1 million, for example. And the chances of winning a jackpot will fall from 1 in 175,223,510 to 1 in 292,201,338.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

On the upside, these changes don't go into effect for another three months, so get thee to a gas station or bodega — and good luck!