Powerball & Mega Millions Are Back, Now That The State Has A Budget
By Stephen Gossett in News on Jul 7, 2017 4:51PM
The state of Illinois at last has a budget, and while challenges ranging from education funding to pension liabilities still remain, one of the more modest victims of the finally-overcome impasse is fully on its feet: Mega Millions and Powerball are both officially back.
Illinois lottery officials confirmed that tickets are back on sale, after the House on Thursday voted to override Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto of the budget package. The Illinois Lottery said in a statement:
“The Illinois Lottery is pleased to announce that sales of Mega Millions have resumed, and players may purchase tickets at any of the Lottery’s nearly 8,000 retail partners, via our mobile app, or at IllinoisLottery.com. We appreciate the loyalty of our players and retail partners as we continue our mission to fund K-12 education."
Ticket sales for Mega Millions and Powerball had ended last week. The Illinois Lottery said last Wednesday that winners of large payouts in all games ($25,000 or more) would "experience a delay in payments" if a budget wasn't reached. But as we saw on Thursday, that outcome was finally avoided for once. If even a budget in Illinois proved within reach, it almost makes you think the jackpot might be too. Almost.