Are lottery drawings happening on Memorial Day? What you need to know

Memorial Day means cookouts, road trips, and long holiday weekends for millions of Americans, even if the weather isn't as nice as we all hoped for. However, for lottery players, there's also one important question: Will the drawings still happen?

The good news is that most major lottery games, including multi-state jackpots like Powerball and Lotto America, are expected to take place as scheduled on Memorial Day. Most in-state draw games will be running as is. However, we should see adjustments or closures at claim centers, in retailer operations, or at the lottery headquarters due to the federal holiday.

Major lottery drawings continue as is

When it comes to the holidays, most lottery drawings rarely take a break. This is especially true for the large multi-state games that operate on a fixed schedule throughout the year.

Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday night throughout the year. For Lotto America, this multi-state draw game is held on the same nights.

Since Memorial Day always falls on a Monday, Powerball and Lotto America players will see no interruption to their drawing routine because of this holiday. This means we could have some big winners on Memorial Day, as the Powerball jackpot has climbed to $141 million and the Lotto America jackpot has topped $20 million, climbing to the game's third-largest jackpot ever at $27.55 million.

For daily in-state draw games, those are also expected to continue running normally. So, your state's Pick 3 or Cash 5 drawing will still be taking place today.

For lottery fans, these holidays can actually become some of the busiest ticket-buying times of the year. People are stopping into the party store for a pitstop on their road trip, so they buy some lottery tickets. Or they stop for some gas and buy a lucky lottery ticket while in the store.

What could change on Memorial Day?

While the drawings themselves are continuing normally, there are some lottery-related services that may operate differently during the holiday.

Many state lottery offices and claim centers do close on Memorial Day. It's a federal holiday, which means government offices are closed. So, if you happen to get a big winner this holiday weekend, you'll have to wait until Tuesday to head to a claim center to get your cash.

Another thing to keep in mind this Memorial Day is that many retailers change their store hours for the holiday. Convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery stores may close early or operate on reduced hours depending on the area.

You may also see ticket cutoff times differ slightly in some states. So, if you are hoping to buy a last-minute ticket, you are encouraged to check your state lottery's website or mobile app before the drawing takes place.

For those states that offer online lottery sales, you shouldn't see any interruptions for the holiday.

While there are no widespread cancellations or delays for lottery drawings on this holiday, lottery officials do still recommend checking your state's lottery website or social media pages for the latest holiday information.

For most players, though, Memorial Day will still include the familiar nightly ritual of checking your winning numbers right alongside fireworks, burgers, and holiday celebrations.

Enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.