Single ticket bought in Illinois wins $1.04B Powerball jackpot

Aug. 13 (UPI) — A single $2 ticket purchased in western Illinois netted the owner the $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot in Wednesday’s draw, the largest win of 2026 and the eighth largest in history of the game, said the Powerball Product Group.

White balls 4, 26, 66, 67, 69 and red Powerball 9 came out in the draw with the winning ticket a match for all six numbers, Powerball said in a news release. The Power Play multiplier was 2.

The winner, who bought the ticket at a Hy-Vee gas station in the Mississippi River town of Quincy, may opt to either receive the prize money as a taxable annuity split into 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or a one-time taxable cash payment of $450.5 million.

Last minute sales on Wednesday edged the jackpot over the $1 billion mark after building up over more than three months of rollovers since the last jackpot win when two tickets bought in Texas and Florida shared a prize of $20 million.

Powerball noted that the game drew on a newly expanded player base with players in Britain taking part for the first time after the tickets went on sale there on July 21, which the company said it expected to fuel growth of jackpots, with the potential for even larger wins.

Offering his congratulations, Stephen Durrell, Chair of the Powerball Product Group and Executive Director of the Kansas Lottery, said the result highlighted how participating in Powerball could totally transform lives.

“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. As participation continues to grow across markets, players are helping fuel larger jackpots and create even greater excitement for the game,” said Durrell.

Three tickets sold in Arizona, Florida and North Carolina won the Match 5 set cash prize of $1 million while a fourth ticket purchased in M***achusetts that matched all five white balls won its owner $2 million, under different rules in the state.

A owner of a fifth ticket from California that also won the Match 5 will get a payout based on sales and the number of winners.

The largest ever Powerball jackpot of $2.04 billion was won in California in November 2022, followed by $1.817 billion in Arkansas on Christmas Eve in 2025 and $1.787 billion in Missouri and Texas, three months earlier in September.

The jackpot for the next draw on Saturday night just before 11 p.m. EDT., currently stands at $20 million and will be livestreamed on the Powerball website.

Draws take place three times weekly, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.