Powerball expands weekly drawing beginning Monday

Lottery players will have another chance to win some big jackpots starting next week.

>> Read more trending news

Powerball will be played three nights a week beginning Monday, lottery officials said in a news release Friday.

The popular game will add Mondays to its current drawings held on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

In addition, a new feature called Double Play will allow players in certain jurisdictions the chance to match their Powerball numbers in a separate drawing for a top cash prize of $1 million.

The next Powerball drawing is Saturday, and the jackpot is at $290 million. The cost remains $2 for each ticket.

“This is the first time in Powerball’s 29-year history that drawings will be offered three nights a week,” Powerball spokesperson May Scheve Reardon, who is also executive director of the Missouri Lottery, said in a news release. “Players will still have the same odds and base ticket price, just more chances to get into the game.”

Players will continue to choose five numbers from 1 to 60, and a Powerball number from 1 to 26, lottery officials said. All 48 U.S. lotteries will sell tickets for the Powerball drawing on Monday nights.

The Double Play feature will be offered in 13 jurisdictions: Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington, according to lottery officials. Additional lotteries may choose to add the Double Play option at a later date.

The cost will be an additional $1 per play to multiply non-jackpot prizes; the Double Play drawing will be held immediately after the Powerball drawing.

Powerball tickets that include the Double Play feature will be eligible to win prizes in both drawings, according to lottery officials.

Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are broadcast live every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. EDT from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee.

“The Florida Lottery is excited about these enhancements coming to Powerball and we look forward to celebrating more jackpot-winning moments with our players,” Florida Lottery Secretary John F. Davis said in a news release.

©2021 Cox Media Group