A single ticket for Powerball sold at a gas station in Quincy, Illinois, became the winner of the accumulated jackpot of $1.04 billion this Wednesday, marking the largest lottery prize ever awarded in that state and the eighth largest in the history of the game, according to the Associated Press.
The lucky ticket was purchased at the Hy-Vee Gas station located at 310 North 36th Street in Quincy, a city in western Illinois on the Missouri border. The winning numbers from Wednesday's drawing were 4, 26, 66, 67, 69, and the Powerball 9.
The prize had accumulated over 44 consecutive drawings without a winner for the jackpot, a streak that began on May 2, 2026, when two tickets sold in Florida and Texas shared the previous jackpot.
Since then, the total has continued to grow: it was around 633 million dollars at the end of July and had climbed to 856 million after the drawing on August 5.
The identity of the winner has not been revealed. Illinois rules allow the lucky individual to remain anonymous, and they have one year from the drawing to claim the prize.
Before taxes, the winner can choose between two payout options: an annual payment of 1.04 billion in 30 gradual installments over 29 years, or a one-time cash payment of approximately 450.5 million dollars.
The gas station that sold the ticket also has reasons to celebrate: the Illinois Lottery will grant it a cash bonus of 500,000 dollars for being the point of sale for the winning ticket.
The store manager, Jon Marshall, had a restless night after the results were announced. "I had been awake since 3 a.m." receiving calls and text messages, he stated, and urged his customers to check their tickets.
This is the third time in history that a Powerball ticket has been a winner in Illinois. The previous two cases were much more modest: $37.5 million in Forest Park in December 2010, and $50 million in Freeport in March 2013.
Nationally, the largest Powerball jackpot of all time remains the $2.04 billion won in California in November 2022.
The Illinois lottery ranks eighth in the history of gaming, taking place three times a week in 45 states across the country, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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