I realize Powerball numbers aren't called like bingo numbers but since I didn't know what to call the action of ping pong balls being sucked into a giant machine with millions of dollars on the line I went with "called".

Tonight the Powerball Jackpot will be an estimated $285 million. That's probably enough money to at least slightly change your lifestyle. I am thinking for me it probably would. The only barrier between you, me, and $285 million appears to be five white ping pong balls and one red ping pong ball.

When you look at it on paper we should be able to defeat those opponents handily. To put it in basketball terms it would be like playing Coach Johnny Jones LSU Tigers. They recently lost an intra-squad scrimmage, that's how badly things are going for them.

While there are no guarantees in the land of the lottery there are trends. I have done some research for you as to what numbers have been called by the Powerball game the most often. Perhaps armed with this knowledge and a little bit of luck you can earn your millions of dollars tonight and thank me on Monday.

Dr. Min Su Kim teaches statistics at Southern University in Baton Rouge. Dr. Kim Told WAFB TV in Baton Rouge in a recent article that in the past 20 years the most often picked Powerball or red balls are number 20 and 06. The other most often picked balls are 37,02,31, and 35. The ball most often called is  #20 for the Powerball

When it comes to the white balls the most frequently called number is 42. The next most frequently called numbers are 37, 2, 31, and 35. Lottery players most frequently choose 26, 41, 16, 22, 42, 35, and 39 in their tickets.

Does that mean those numbers will pay out for you tonight at 9:59 when the Powerball drawing is held? Well, the odds are only 1 out of 146 million that any particular numbers would line up in such a way.

There is some validity to Dr. Kim's research he is, in fact, a two-time lottery winner. He may have won even more times since this article was first published. Regardless, you'll want to play responsibly and not wager any money you can't afford to lose.

Good Luck!

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