CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Lottery players across West Virginia will have another chance at winning a major jackpot prize as Powerball announces a third weekly drawing to the schedule.
A Monday drawing will be added to the weekly lineup beginning Aug. 23 at 10:59 p.m. The new drawing joins current drawings held on Wednesday and Saturday of each week.
“Players have talked to us over the years and say they want to see jackpots grow faster and grow larger, so adding this third day a week drawing will make that happen,” said state Lottery Director John Myers.
Powerball tickets remain at $2 per play with this change. Players will continue to choose five numbers ranging from 1 to 69 and one Powerball number from 1 to 26. The Power Play add-on feature remains at an additional $1 per play to multiply non-jackpot prizes.
Myers said the additional day has nothing to do with the COVID-19 pandemic, but they have continued to experience “jackpot fatigue.”
“The normal players are playing all the time, but other people just play occasionally when the jackpot gets big. What used to be $100 million now is almost $300 million before we start seeing those other players come out,” Myers said.
West Virginia will opt out of a new Double Play game, also available on Aug. 23. It gives players a chance to win a top prize of $10 million. There are 13 state that are offering Double Play including Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington.
Myers said they could add Double Play at a later time.
“There is one state that requires you to buy the Double Play with the Powerball ticket which would make it a $3 ticket, but we’re not doing that,” he said.
West Virginia ticket sales from the third weekly drawing will contribute to funding vital public programs and services through the state Lottery, Myers said.
“The sale of a lottery ticket goes to three main things and that’s education, senior citizens and tourism here in the state West Virginia,” he said.