Powerball Jackpot Soars To Record $1.6B: What To Know In Illinois

ILLINOIS — Only two Illinois residents have been lucky enough to hit the Powerball Jackpot in the history of the popular lottery game that is boasting a $1.6 billion payday for anyone fortunate enough to come up with the winning combination of numbers.

But there's still plenty of time for players across the state to strike it rich before the next drawing takes place for the Powerball jackpot, which boasts the largest prize in U.S. lottery history. Saturday's drawing will take place at 9:59 p.m., which means that Illinoisans have until 9 p.m. to purchase tickets.

In Wednesday’s Powerball drawing, the winning numbers were 02, 11, 22, 35, and 60, with a Powerball of 23. Three tickets worth $100,000 were told to Illinois players in Wednesday's drawings with winning tickets being sold in Bolingbrook, Metamara, and Joliet. Another nine tickets worth $50,000 in winnings were also sold across the state, according to Illinois lottery officials.

Powerball drawings are held at 9:59 p.m. in Illinois on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

The estimated jackpot eclipses 2016’s world record $1.586 million Powerball jackpot, split by players in California, Florida, and Tennessee.

Winners may choose to receive their prize as an annuity paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or they may take a cash payout, which is estimated at $782.4 million for Saturday’s game. Nearly all winners choose cash.

Federal taxes would about $187.8 million of the cash prize. Most states also tax lottery winnings. California, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming don’t tax lottery winnings.

The odds of winning are abysmal, about 1 in 292.2 million. The odds of winning any prize are better, 1 in 24.9.

A Powerball ticket costs $2. For an additional $1 per ticket, players can multiply non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times with the Power Play feature. One caveat: The 10X multiplier is only available when the advertised jackpot annuity is $150 million or less.

To win the jackpot, a player must match all white balls in any order and the red Powerball number. Lottery officials say chances are higher when players don’t choose their own numbers. About 75 percent of winning tickets over the years were picked by a computer.

Tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. According to Powerball, more than half of all ticket sales remain in the jurisdiction where the ticket was sold.

The jackpot has gone unclaimed since Aug. 3. If no one wins the jackpot Saturday, it will grow even larger for Monday’s Powerball drawing.