Illinois Lotto jackpot for Thursday drawing is the largest prize of the year

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The Illinois Lotto jackpot has reached a life-changing $15.2 million for Thursday night's drawing, making it the largest prize of the year and the fourth largest in nearly three years.

The jackpot has continued to grow since April, when two Lotto players won $1 million each, according to a statement from the Illinois Lottery. In total, over 2.9 million winning Lotto tickets have been sold this year, netting players nearly $12.4 million in prizes.

If a player wins Thursday night's jackpot, it would be the biggest Lotto prize of the year. The current game record was set in June 2020 when a lucky Illinois Lottery player scooped up $16.5 million playing Lotto, lottery officials said.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 15,890,700, but that has not stopped hopeful players from lining up to purchase their tickets.

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Last month two players won $1 million each. On Apr. 2, a winning $1 million Lotto 2 ticket was sold online, and a winning $1 million Lotto 1 ticket was sold on Apr. 13 at a BP gas station in south suburban Oak Forest, lottery officials said.

4 Illinois Lottery prizes worth over $3 million combined remain unclaimed

Four winning Illinois Lottery tickets sold in the Chicago area last month remain unclaimed, leaving millions of dollars untouched, officials announced Tuesday.

The winning Lotto numbers will be drawn Thursday night at 9:22 p.m. Players have until 9:15 p.m. to purchase their tickets for a chance to win the life-changing $15.2 million jackpot.

Lotto is an Illinois-only game that is played three times a week on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.