The Illinois Lottery will add a third weekly Powerball drawing beginning on Monday, Aug. 23, a spokesperson confirmed to PlayIllinois.
Currently, Powerball drawings in Illinois in take place on Wednesday and Friday nights at 9:59 p.m. CST. Going forward, Illinoisans will have another weekly chance to win big.
The Powerball jackpot currently sits at approximately $226 million. It costs $2 per ticket to play, and Illinois is one of several states to expand to three drawings per week.
The Mega Millions and Lotto Extra Shot are the Illinois Lottery’s other signature jackpot games. There are two Mega Millions drawings per week, while there are three Extra Shot drawings per week.
Illinoisans can purchase Powerball tickets online (Illinois Lottery app or mobile site) or in person.
Winners can also claim their prizes online. This wasn’t always the case, as they previously had to make appointments at a claim center.
Here’s how to claim a prize online:
- Visit the IL Lottery’s website.
- Click on the “When You Win” tab in the “Winning” drop-down menu.
- Click on the blue “Go To E-Claims” button.
- Read the terms and conditions, and check the two boxes confirming you read them.
- Click “Next.” Here, you’ll find a fillable claim form broken down into three steps.
- After completing the form, you’ll need to submit a scan or picture of the back and front of your winning ticket.
Winners will receive their prizes within three to four weeks.
$286 million Powerball jackpot recently hit in Florida
On June 28, a group called Love You More Trust won a $286 million Powerball jackpot prize. Clay Tousey, of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, represented the group.
The winning ticket was sold at the Circle K gas station at 721 S. Chaffee Road in Jacksonville. The winning numbers were 44, 52, 54, 64, 69 and the red Powerball 26.
Also, in June, someone in the Chicagoland area won $56 million playing Mega Millions.
Drawings for the Mega Millions in Illinois take place on Tuesday and Thursday nights. With Powerball drawings moving to three days per week, there are plenty of jackpot opportunities on the calendar.
Powerball background information
Currently, Powerball is offered in 45 states.
How likely is it for someone to win the Powerball jackpot? Players must choose all five white numbers between 1-69 correctly and the sixth red “Powerball” between 1-26 correctly.
That comes out to a one in 292,201,338 chance of hitting the jackpot. So yes, big wins happen on occasion. But you’ll need to get very, very lucky in order to win the ultimate prize.