HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania Lottery starts selling Powerball tickets Thursday, the first joint game venture with other states during its 30 years of existence.

The tickets will go on sale at 5 a.m. at some 6,000 vendors across the state.

The first Powerball drawing is Saturday and players will have the chance to win more and bigger jackpots than offered in existing Lottery games.

Pennsylvania becomes the 22nd state to participate in Powerball, known nationally for huge jackpots. One reached a record $295 million in 1998.

Powerball jackpots start at $10 million and roll over until there is a winner.

While visions of stratospheric jackpots beckon for players, the reasons Pennsylvania is joining the multi-state lotto game are more down to earth.

State officials hope to the boost lottery sales so senior citizen benefits -- particularly the PACE or prescription drug assistance program -- can be maintained at current levels or without the need to tap general state tax revenues. About 40 percent of Lottery revenues go to programs to benefit senior citizens. The most expensive program is the one to help low-income seniors buy prescriptions. The rising cost of prescription drugs threatens to put the Lottery into the red in several years.

When he announced in December that Powerball was coming to Pennsylvania, Gov. Mark Schweiker said, "There's no question that it is getting more expensive to support the many senior-citizen programs, now funded by the Lottery. To do nothing would send us on a certain course toward deficits and serious problems. By taking this step now, while exploring other aggressive ways to boost sales, we can foresee a more optimistic future." Officials expect to gross anywhere from $60 million to $100 million in the new fiscal year from sales of Powerball tickets with a portion of amount going to infuse benefit programs, said Lottery spokeswoman Sally Danyluk.

That estimate is based on the experience of other states with Powerball.

"We are projecting (an additional) $35 million to $40 million to be available for programs," she added.

Of Lottery revenues, 50 percent goes for prize money, 40 percent goes to benefit programs, 7 percent is paid in commissions to retailers and vendors and 3 percent is spent on administration.

Pennsylvania's lottery sold $1.7 billion in tickets and provided $720 million for benefit programs last year.

Of the latter sum, $324 million, or 40 percent, went to PACE, the prescription program. The Lottery also funds a property tax and rent rebate program for low-income seniors, a program to help seniors pay mass transit fares and operations for the 52 agencies on aging at the local level.