Illinois Lottery officials already posted a photo of Saturday’s long lines at a Chicago convenience store on their website. Expect even longer lines Monday as the $2 billion Powerball jackpot drawing looms.
The Illinois online lottery option saves residents a wait in line. Customers can buy tickets on the website or through the Illinois Lottery app.
“There has never been a jackpot this big, meaning tonight’s draw is making history as the largest lottery jackpot of all time,” the lottery staff posted in its Monday morning update.
Players who like the feel of a ticket in their hands should be able to find a checkout counter nearby. The Illinois Lottery works with more than 7,000 retailers around the state.
Keep in mind, lotto games have the biggest jackpots but they also carry long odds for even a small win. The Illinois Lottery included a reminder:
“Powerball is a game of chance. Knowing the rules and odds of the games you play is an important part of responsible gaming.”
Odds for the $2 billion Powerball jackpot
The odds of winning any prize with your Monday night Powerball plays are 1-in-25. No one has hit the Powerball jackpot since an Aug. 3 ticket in Pennsylvania landed all six numbers.
Players can choose the annuity option to get the full jackpot amount before taxes. With that option, Powerball phases in the full jackpot amount over 30 years.
Players who want a lump sum payment can choose the $929 million cash option instead.
- Jackpot for all six numbers (1-in-292,201,338)
- $1 million for matching all five white balls, but missing on the Powerball (1-in-11,688,053.52)
- $50,000 for any five correct numbers counting the Powerball (1-in-913,129.18)
- $100 for any four correct numbers with (1-in-14,494.11) or without (1-in-36,525.17) the correct Powerball
- $7 for any three correct numbers with (1-in-701.33) or without (1-in-579.76) the correct Powerball
- $4 for the correct Powerball (1-in-38.32) or correct Powerball + another correct number (1-in-91.98)
Be sure to keep your ticket where you can find it and check the numbers carefully. The Illinois Lottery has an entire page devoted to unclaimed wins. Many are very recent so those winners may be doing their homework. But, a $1 million Illinois Lotto ticket bought at a Chicago Shell station in February still hasn’t been claimed.
What is the Powerball deadline in Illinois?
To get a shot at tonight’s $2 billion jackpot, Illinois players need to complete their purchases by 8:59 p.m. for the 9:59 p.m. drawing. Any plays bought at 9 p.m. or later would go toward Wednesday night’s draw — not the big one tonight.
Monday night draws are new to Powerball, by the way. The game added a third drawing per week starting on Aug. 23. Powerball goes on a Monday-Wednesday-Saturday schedule now.
Speaking of Saturday, the heavy Nov. 5 Powerball traffic produced plenty of winners, even if no one in Illinois — or anywhere — won the world-record jackpot:
$50,000 wins (5)
- Casey’s convenience store in Jerseyville
- D G Food and Liquor Mart in Downers Grove
- Hucks (two tickets) in Mount Vernon
- and Mj7 Oil Corporation in Winthrop Harbor.
$150,000 wins (3)
- Circle K in Steger
- Express Lane in Cordova and
- an online purchase through the Illinois Lottery.
Illinois sold about 400,000 winning plays from Saturday’s draw.
