The odds aren’t any better for Texas Lottery players, but the chances to win are about to increase. A new Monday Powerball drawing coming in concert with the same for Lotto Texas. There will be more winning numbers for both games each week.
The Texas Lottery is limiting advance sales for the two draw-style games over the next two weeks in preparation for the change. Besides the extra weekly drawing and temporary sales limit, though, everything Texans love about these games remains.
A Monday Powerball drawing is coming
Starting Aug. 23, the TX Lottery will hold three Powerball and Lotto Texas drawings each week. In addition to the current Wednesday and Saturday pulls, Monday nights will be Lotto Texas and Powerball nights as well. The lottery will announce all results at 10:12 p.m. CT on its website.
Players can also check the TX Lottery app for results after each drawing. Although online sales are illegal in TX, players can also use the app to prepare their draws for purchase and locate the retailer closest to them.
Because of the schedule change, the lottery imposed a diminishing cap on advance draw sales. Normally, players can opt to activate their picks for up to 10 consecutive drawings. However, since July 21, that number has dropped.
For example, starting on Aug. 19, Powerball customers will only be able to buy plays for the Aug. 21 drawing. On Aug. 22, the normal option to buy plays for up to 10 drawings resumes. Prices for each play remain the same, set at a dollar for Lotto Texas and $2 for Powerball.
Players will still have the option to add the Extra! to their Lotto Texas plays and the Power Play to their Powerball tickets for an extra dollar per play. That isn’t the only constant through this change though. Despite the increase in drawings, players’ odds of winning remain the same.
More drawings don’t improve odds for games
There are going to be more winning numbers and thus more winners each week. However, it’s important to note that doesn’t mean the odds of any single ticket becoming a winner of any prize are actually better for players.
The fact is that your $1 Lotto Texas play and your $2 Powerball ticket have the exact same odds of winning in the new Monday drawing as they did when drawings only happened twice a week. How does that work? Actually, it’s pretty simple.
These games aren’t like bingo, for example, where numbers progressively get taken out of the field until a player wins. The field of available numbers for the drawings reset between each pull.
For that reason, each drawing is its own event and previous drawings have no effect on subsequent pulls. The odds of winning a prize playing Powerball would still be 1 in 24.9 even if there were 17 drawings each week.
The good news is that soon, there will be a third night for checking your numbers to see if you’ve won each week. Whether you win a prize or not, playing responsibly will ensure you get maximum enjoyment out of your tickets.
