The summer temps are rising, and so are the stakes for Illinois Lottery bettors. The huge state lotto jackpot has ballooned to its largest size in nearly three years and any lucky winner could walk away with well over $17 million as at publishing.
The Illinois Lottery jackpot prize will hover around $17.2 million when ticket sales are cut off at 9.15 PM for the June 10th draw. This is hands down the biggest lotto jackpot of 2023. If the lottery prize continues to swell, it could soon surpass the previous Illinois record of $16.5 million from mid-2020 by more than two million.
Bettors must select any six of numbers 1 through 50 to play the state’s biggest lotto. They can also purchase an Extra Shot for an additional $1, which will give them a chance to win non-top prizes. You can buy tickets online via the official Illinois Lottery website or at any participating retailer throughout the Land of Lincoln.
The Lotto jackpot has evaded players for weeks on end, and without any winners since April, the top prize has climbed to its current $17,150,000.
Illinois Lotto did have a couple of winners earlier this spring, including a $1 million Lotto 2 ticket on April 2 and a $1 million Lotto 1 slip on April 13. The first lucky player bought their winning ticket online, while the second purchased it at Oak Forest’s BP gas station.
What we cover
How to enter the race for the over $17-million grand prize of the Illinois Lottery
There are a handful of ground rules and steps you must heed to try your luck with the Lotto Jackpot. Each ticket for the Illinois Lottery will set you back $2, although you can plunk down an additional buck to purchase an Extra Shot. You can think of the Extra Shot as giving yourself a leg up on non-top prizes.
Illinois Lotto tickets are sold at participating retail locations (think convenience stores like 7/Eleven, gas stations, drug stores like RiteAid, grocery stores like Mariano’s, and even newsstands). You can also purchase the tickets on the official Illinois Lottery website, as well as various legal casinos dotted around the state.
The lottery has a gameplay that is familiar to most lotto players. You must tick off 6 numbers and each can be anything from 1 through 50.
The online lotto ticket feature has six lines. Each line will cost you $2, so selecting six numbers for all lines will set you back a total of $12. You can also use the Quick Pick feature to auto-fill the ticket with random selections.
The jackpot is yours if you land all six digits. If you played the Extra Shot, getting it correct will earn you at least $5.
Lotto Million 1 and Lotto Million 2 give ticket holders two extra shots at winning $1 million, respectively.
Remember, Illinois Lottery tickets can only be sold (and purchased) within the borders of the Prairie State. Sales of tickets for each draw close at 9.15 PM that day. The state lottery is drawn at 9.22 PM every Saturday, Monday, and Thursday.
The state’s minimum gambling age is strictly enforced by the Illinois Lotto officials. That means players must be at least 18 years of age to buy or claim the tickets. Like all gambling winnings in the Land of Lincoln, the Lotto Jackpot and other winnings are subject to both state and federal taxes.
The last drawn numbers (June 8) were 8, 9, 35, 36, 49, and 50 with an Extra Shot of 25. Seven lucky Illinoisans bagged $2,180.50 each for marching five out of six numbers.
No one hit the jackpot and neither did the Lotto Million draws, and it’s easy to understand why: your odds of landing the grand prize is a staggering 1 in 15,890,700! But that’s nowhere near the 1 in 292,201,338 odds you must climb against to win the $308 million Powerball jackpot. We cannot say the same for a Michigan lucky bettor who won two jackpots of $240,000 due to a mix-up.
The Illinois Lottery has been providing funding for public education and other important programs in the state since 1985. Over $24 billion in revenue has been generated for these causes since then.
What happens if you land the Illinois Lotto jackpot?
Despite the astronomical odds, the Illinois Lotto jackpot is won fairly regularly. Not one, but two lucky Illinoisans clinched the multi-million-dollar jackpot last year alone. The first jackpot win of $12.5 million was sold at Total Liquors in Elgin in April, while the second valued at $10.1 million was sold online on August 29.
If you’re lucky enough to select all six correct numbers, expect a happy call, email, or any convenient form of contact from the Illinois Lottery. You’ll be given the choice of taking home your jackpot in a lump sum or installments paid out over 25 years.
Of course, you won’t get the entire $17.15 million loot if you win the record-shattering Lotto Jackpot right now. Uncle Sam and the state will take their cut in taxes, while the rest is yours for taking.
The Illinois Lottery: Betting on a good cause
The Illinois Lotto is a crucial source of funding for the state. The Illinois Lottery indicates that about 25¢ of every $1 spent on purchasing Lotto tickets go to good causes, with the biggest chunk ending up in the Common School Fund. More than $24 billion has been raised since 1985 for the fund to support K-12 public school education.
In addition to education, a portion of the lottery’s revenue is also used to fund capital projects, such as the renovation and construction of state bridges and roads. The lottery also supports a variety of other special causes, including Alzheimer’s support, homelessness prevention, police memorials, breast cancer research, and veterans’ support.
Conclusion
The Illinois Lottery’s jackpot has exploded to an unprecedented $17.2 million, and without any winners on the horizon, the stakes have never been higher. While most players will walk away empty-handed, the few lucky souls who match all six numbers will take home a massive 65% of the total prize. The remaining millions flow into state coffers, amounting to over $24 billion in the 35 years since the Lottery’s inception.
