A big jackpot couldn’t come at a better time as players gear up for new Monday Powerball drawings that begin today, Monday, Aug. 23.
The multi-state lottery draw game now offers drawings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays each week.
Virginia Lottery players can purchase tickets for the popular game, which had an estimated jackpot of $293 million as of Monday morning.
Why Monday Powerball drawings?
So why did officials implement the new Monday Powerball drawings?
Like its chief competition, Mega Millions, Powerball is known as a mega-jackpot game. When lotto players talk about “winning the big one,” they’re usually referring to Mega Millions or Powerball.
Nearly every US state, as well many US territories, take part in Powerball. The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) airs Powerball drawings live at 10:59 p.m. from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee, and millions tune in.
Why? The big jackpots, of course.
Powerball offers a minimum jackpot of $20 million per drawing. However, when a drawing has no winner, which has been the case since June 5, 2021, the big prize gets even bigger. And when those jackpots start to hit milestones ($250 million, $500 million, even $1 billion), media attention usually sparks some ticket-buying frenzies.
Now, with the Monday Powerball drawings, those headline-grabbing jackpots should come a little more quickly.
50% off VA Lottery Powerball tickets
To usher in the new era of Monday Powerball drawings, the VA Lottery is offering 50% off an online Powerball purchase of $10.
Buy Virginia Lottery tickets online, and $10 of games will cost you just $5. However, the deal is good for Monday, August 23, only.
And sure, you can still purchase Powerball tickets at one of the 5,000-plus retailers located throughout the commonwealth.
However, iLotto via the Virginia Lottery has become a popular option. The VA Lotto registered $2 billion in online lottery sales in its most recent fiscal year.
Powerball and Mega Millions (which, we should point out, also has a jackpot at $270 million right now) were big reasons why.
How much Powerball tickets cost
Powerball tickets cost $2. You can choose the numbers yourself, or you can choose the Quick Pick option and have a computer select them for you.
Powerball players can also pay an extra $1 for “Power Play,” which will at least double the prize payout for anything but the grand prize.
To win the Powerball jackpot, a player needs to match all five white balls and the Powerball. White balls are numbered 1 through 69, and the red Powerball is numbered 1 to 26.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are about 1 in 292 million. So, yeah, it’s definitely a long shot, with or without the new Monday drawings.
