Automating Powerball Lottery Tracking with Home Assistant

General
1

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my recent project where I automated the tracking of Powerball lottery numbers using Home Assistant. It’s been a fun and rewarding experience, and I hope others might find it useful too!

My Setup

I live in a state that doesn’t offer Powerball, so my wife and I often cross the border to buy tickets. I wanted a way to keep track of our numbers and get notified if we win. Here’s how I set it up:

  1. Inputs and Sensors:

    • I created an input_datetime for the end date of our Powerball tickets.
    • An input_text allows me to input our chosen numbers.
    • I used the jsonrest sensor to pull data from Powerball’s API, including recent winning numbers and upcoming draws.

  2. Template Sensors:

    • I set up several template sensors to parse and display the data in a user-friendly way. For example, powerball_winning_numbers shows the latest winning numbers, and powerball_next_prize displays the jackpot amount.

  3. Automation:

    • I created an automation that triggers when the winning numbers are updated. It checks if any of our numbers match and sends a notification if we’ve won.

The Result

It’s amazing to see everything come together. The dashboard gives me a clear view of the latest draw results, upcoming jackpots, and whether we’ve hit the jackpot!

Looking for Feedback

I’m considering creating a custom card to make the dashboard even more polished, but my JavaScript skills are still growing. If anyone has suggestions or would like to collaborate, I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks to everyone in the community for the inspiration and resources that made this possible. It’s projects like these that make Home Assistant so versatile and fun to use!

Best,
[Your Name]