Lottery fever has set in across Illinois as the two multi-state lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball, reach a combined jackpot of $1.065 billion.
The Mega Millions jackpot for tonight’s drawing now stands at $450 million – the third largest jackpot of 2023, while the Powerball jackpot for Saturday night’s drawing is an estimated $615 million – the 10th largest in the game’s history.
As both jackpots climb, Illinois Lottery players will be hoping that their numbers come up for a chance to win larger-than-life sums of money.
Just last year, a $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot – the largest lottery prize ever won in Illinois and, at the time, the third largest lottery prize in U.S. history – was won with a single ticket purchased at the Speedway gas station in Des Plaines.
So far this year, five Illinoisans have won prizes of $1 million or more playing the Mega Millions or Powerball games.
In total, Mega Millions and Powerball players have purchased nearly 3.3 million winning tickets and won nearly $27 million in prizes in 2023 in Illinois.
With over 7,000 Illinois Lottery retailers across the State, lottery players can conveniently pick up a ticket at their local store – or they can login to the Illinois Lottery website or app and purchase a ticket online.
Mega Millions and Powerball tickets are $2 each, and players can add the Megaplier or Power Play for an additional $1 for the chance to multiply non-jackpot prizes.
The next Mega Millions drawing is tonight, July 7, and the next Powerball drawing is Saturday, July 8 at 9:59 p.m. (CT).
About the Illinois Lottery:
Founded in 1974, the Illinois Lottery has contributed over $24 billion (since 1985) to the state’s Common School Fund to assist K-12 public schools, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars to the Capital Projects Fund and to special causes. For more information, visit IllinoisLottery.com.
