A single Powerball ticket sold in Illinois matched all six numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, claiming a $1.04 billion jackpot, according to lottery officials.
The winning numbers were 4, 26, 66, 67, 69 and Powerball 9. The ticket was purchased at a Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh gas station on North 36th Street in Quincy, Illinois, the Illinois Lottery confirmed. It ranks as the eighth-largest Powerball jackpot in the game’s history and the largest of 2026 so far.
The winner, who has not been publicly identified, can choose between the full $1.04 billion annuity paid over 30 years or a one-time cash option of $450.5 million before taxes. After federal taxes at the top 37% rate and Illinois’ flat 4.95% state income tax, the cash payout is estimated at roughly $260 million, according to tax analyses of the prize.
Powerball officials said the jackpot had climbed through 44 consecutive drawings without a grand-prize winner. The last jackpot win occurred in early May, when players in Florida and Texas split a much smaller prize. Wednesday’s drawing marked the first billion-dollar Powerball win since an Arkansas player took home $1.8 billion on Christmas Eve 2025.
“Congratulations to our newest Powerball jackpot winner in Illinois,” Powerball chair Stephen Durrell said in a statement released by the Multi-State Lottery Association.
Illinois lottery rules allow winners of prizes larger than $250,000 to remain anonymous when claiming. The winner has not yet come forward publicly. The jackpot resets to an estimated $20 million for Saturday’s drawing.
The prize is the third Powerball jackpot won with a ticket sold in Illinois. The previous Illinois win came in 2013.
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