With any luck, the winner of the $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot will be determined tonight.
Galesburg native Janet Christiansen purchased a lottery ticket this morning, marking the first time she has ever participated in the Powerball.
On her way out of the Main Street Casey’s, Christiansen told WGIL she would donate a portion, if she wins, to cancer research — her husband died as a result of the disease — and set her sights on a trip to visit family.
“I’d like to go to Arkansas and visit my sister,” Christiansen says. “I really miss her because she’s moved to Arkansas. And I’ve got a niece and nephew down there to. It would be nice.”
She adds that winning the Powerball would make a nice birthday present when she turns 78 this Saturday.
At the Monmouth Ayerco station, Manager Sherry Fillmen says she has seen an increase in Powerball players since the winnings began inching toward the billion dollar mark.
“It’s obviously more than doubled,” she says. “You’ve got people that have never played the lottery before that are buying ’em now. So a significant amount of people in buying them for their first time.”
Should an Illinois winner be drawn tonight, the lucky Powerball player would expect a prize of $930 million before taxes.
