Is a $2 Powerball ticket too much?

Starting Sunday, Jan. 15, a regular Powerball ticket will cost you $2, double the previous price. But the people behind the 42-state, $3 billion-a-year lottery say more players will now have the chance to become millionaires.

It's a "birthday makeover" as Powerball turns 20 this year. But the question is: Will people still want to play after a price hike of 100%?

Here are other changes to expect once the $1 Powerball passes into history with Saturday night's drawing:

• The minimum jackpot -- matching all five white-ball numbers plus the red Powerball -- will be $40 million, up from $20 million.
• Matching five numbers (your Powerball pick was a dud) will get you a cool $1 million, up from $200,000 now.
• Your odds of winning the jackpot will also increase because the choice of Powerball numbers is being scaled back -- from 39 to 35. (Regular white balls will still number 1 through 59.) "That will raise the odds of winning from 1 in 192 million to 1 in 175 million," The Associated Press says. That's still just slightly better than a snowball's chance in the underworld.
• The overall odds of winning something will also increase -- from 1 in 35 to 1 in 31.8 -- not that you're playing to win the $4 minimum prize (up from the current $3).
• Power Play will also change. "Power Play prizes become set prizes, no longer dependent upon a multiplier," the Multi-State Lottery Association says. Rather, pay that extra dollar -- now you're up to $3 for one ticket -- and a $4 prize becomes $12, a $7 prize is $14, $100 in winnings becomes $200, $10,000 becomes $40,000 (!) and the $1 million prize for matching five white balls doubles to $2 million (!!). The Arizona Lottery has a chart that explains how that works.

The association, a nonprofit owned by the various state lotteries, expects Powerball purchases to drop off at first, until jackpots climb, and they will even faster than they do now if no one wins. "The current game is designed for an average jackpot of $141 million. … (T)he math for the new design says the average will be $255 million," the association says. Post continues below.

How's this going over so far? Not too well. Some examples:

• An online poll on Myrtle Beach Online showed 72% saying they won't play the Powerball for $2, last time we checked.
• Barb Caffrey, a blogger and occasional Powerball player, thinks the lottery people are being insensitive by raising the price right now. She wrote:

So if I can see this new "fee schedule" as a non-starter as a regular lottery player who's spent more than her share of cash on the Powerball over the years, why can't the Powerball execs?

Oh, yeah. They must not have been hit by the horrible economy, so they actually think there's enough money out there to do something like this.

• Don't be fooled by the hype about a new and improved Powerball, John Hood of the conservative John Locke Foundation told the News & Observer of North Carolina:

The lottery is inherently a game for suckers. If you're making it slightly less exploitative, don't expect anybody to congratulate you.

So, what are your possible options if you're unhappy?

• Quit this nonsense. Sure, you can't win if you don't play (and play and play). But you most likely won't win the jackpot anyway. Playing the lottery is not a retirement plan. You're wasting money.
• Switch to the Mega Millions game, still just a buck to play and, like Powerball, available in 42 states. The Multi-State Lottery Association is OK with that. "For those players who prefer a $1 big jackpot game, Mega Millions is a great option," its website says.
• Cut back on Power Play. AP says 40% of players in Oklahoma choose Power Play, so some people are obviously used to spending that extra dollar. 

We suspect people who like to play Powerball will quickly get over the new price point. It's not like a new debit card fee or bill-pay convenience fee, where you're expecting more value when the price goes up. Whether a lottery ticket is $1 or $2, you can't reasonably expect any return on that money. 

The lottery folks seem confident you'll continue to play, based on current consumer practices. Says an interesting and fun Powerball FAQ page at the association website (which answers all kinds of questions like "Is there a secret to improve your chance of winning Powerball?" and "Do Powerball tickets expire?"):

Finally, after 20 years at the same price and after watching scratch ticket sales take off with $2, $3, $5, $10, $20, and even $50 tickets, we are going to make the big jump.

If you play Powerball, what's your action plan?

More on MSN Money:

• You won the lottery! Now what?
• I won the lottery -- and I'm keeping my job
• How do your finances stack up?
• What if you won the lottery?
• Am I saving enough for retirement?
• The lottery: An 'investment' for fools