(VIDEO) Illinois Player Wins Record $1.04 Billion Powerball Jackpot, Eighth-Largest In History

CHICAGO — A single Powerball ticket sold in Illinois matched all six numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing to win a $1.04 billion jackpot, ending a months-long run without a winner and claiming the eighth-largest prize in the game’s history.

The winning ticket was purchased at a Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh store located at 310 N. 36th St. in Quincy, Illinois, according to the Illinois Lottery. The winning numbers for the August 12 drawing were 4, 26, 66, 67 and 69, with a Powerball number of 9 and a Power Play multiplier of 2. The identity of the winner had not been publicly announced as of Thursday morning.

The jackpot marks the largest Powerball prize won so far in 2026 and the second-largest lottery prize ever won in the state of Illinois. Wednesday’s drawing was the 44th consecutive drawing since the jackpot was last won, on May 2, a run that had steadily pushed the prize higher week after week as ticket sales climbed.

The winner faces a significant decision on how to collect the prize. The jackpot can be claimed as an annuitized payment of $1.04 billion, distributed across 30 graduated payments over 29 years, with each annual payment increasing by 5%, or as a lump-sum cash option of $450.5 million. Both figures are before taxes. According to an analysis by Casino.org, the lump-sum option would shrink to roughly $261.5 million after accounting for the 37% federal tax rate and Illinois’ 4.5% state tax on lottery winnings.

Beyond the jackpot itself, Wednesday’s drawing produced a wave of smaller prizes across the country. More than 3 million tickets won cash prizes of some amount. Four tickets, sold in Arizona, California, Florida and North Carolina, matched all five white balls to win the Match 5 prize, worth a set $1 million in most states, though California’s prize payouts are determined on a pari-mutuel basis based on total sales and the number of winners in that state. A fifth ticket matching all five white balls, sold in Massachusetts, included the Power Play option, boosting its prize to $2 million. Powerball also reported 70 tickets winning $50,000 each, with 16 of those tickets carrying the Power Play multiplier, doubling their prize to $100,000.

The retailer that sold the winning ticket also benefits directly from the jackpot win. Under Illinois Lottery rules, the store will receive a $500,000 cash bonus for selling the jackpot-winning ticket, an incentive designed to encourage retailers across the state to continue participating in the lottery program.

Wednesday’s drawing carried additional significance as the first jackpot run to include players from the United Kingdom, following the launch of Powerball ticket sales there on July 21. Powerball officials have said the expanded international player base is expected to help fuel even larger jackpots going forward by increasing the overall pool of ticket sales feeding into future prize pools.

“For more than three decades, Powerball has shown that a winning ticket can be sold anywhere the game is played, giving every $2 ticket the chance to change not only a winner’s life, but generations to come,” Powerball said in a statement following the drawing, adding that continued growth in participation across markets is helping fuel larger jackpots and greater excitement around the game.

Wednesday’s win adds to a growing list of billion-dollar-plus lottery jackpots won in recent years. The largest Powerball jackpot ever recorded remains the $2.04 billion prize won by a single ticket in California on November 7, 2022. The second- and third-largest Powerball jackpots in history were both won last year, with a $1.817 billion prize claimed in Cabot, Arkansas, on December 24, 2025, and a $1.787 billion jackpot split between two tickets sold in Missouri and Texas on September 6, 2025.

Since the current jackpot run began on May 4, Illinois Lottery players alone purchased more than $53.8 million worth of Powerball tickets, generating over $21.5 million in proceeds for the state’s Common School Fund, which supports kindergarten-through-12th-grade public education across Illinois.

The jackpot winner now has one year from the date of the drawing to come forward and claim the prize. Illinois Lottery officials have urged the ticket holder to sign the back of the winning ticket immediately and store it in a secure location until they are ready to formally claim their winnings.

With Wednesday’s jackpot now claimed, the Powerball prize resets to an estimated $20 million for the next drawing, scheduled for Saturday night, restarting the cycle that will once again begin building toward the game’s next potential nine- or ten-figure jackpot. Powerball drawings are held three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evenings, with tickets available through authorized retailers across participating states, as well as online through individual state lottery websites and mobile apps where permitted.