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Matthew Robinson

By Matthew Robinson

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A Powerball player in Illinois won $1.04 billion on Wednesday, the largest jackpot in 2026 and one of the biggest in the game's history.

The winning ticket, purchased at a Hy-Vee gas station in Quincy at odds of 1 in 292.2 million, matched all six numbers drawn on Wednesday evening*—*4, 26, 66, 67, 69, and Powerball 9. More than three million tickets also won cash prizes by matching at least one of the winning numbers.

The top prize was the eighth largest in the game's history, behind a jackpot of $2.04 billion won in November 2022, in California.

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Meanwhile, four tickets sold in Arizona, California, Florida, and North Carolina matched all five white balls to win Match 5 prizes worth up to $1 million. However, California's payouts are determined by a pari-mutuel system that factors in ticket sales and the number of winners.

Another player in Massachusetts also matched all five white balls and doubled their prize to $2 million after they purchased the optional Power Play feature.

Stephen Durrell, chair of the Powerball Product Group and executive director of the Kansas Lottery, said: "Congratulations to our newest Powerball jackpot winner in Illinois.

"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."

File photo: a billboard displays the estimated Powerball jackpot in Houston, Texas, August 11, 2026.

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Why the Winner Won't Take Home $1.04 Billion

The top prize winner has not yet been named as Illinois law allows lottery winners of prizes over $250,000 to remain completely anonymous. They can choose between an annuitized prize of $1.04 billion, or a lump-sum payment of $450.5 million. Both of these payments are subject to federal, and often state, income taxes.

Under the annuitized option, the first payment is issued immediately, followed by 29 annual installments that increase by around 5 percent each year to offset inflation.

The lottery funds these payments by purchasing government bonds with the prize pool, using both the principal and the interest to fund the escalating payouts.

Winners are also offered a cash option, often about half the advertised jackpot. This cash value represents the actual money collected from ticket sales and sitting in the prize pool.

Lottery winners do not get to keep the full advertised jackpot. The IRS automatically withholds 24 percent of winnings upfront, and winners may owe additional federal taxes, depending on their income level. For top earners, the federal tax rate can reach 37 percent, although deductions and credits may reduce the final bill.

If the winner chooses the lump sum payment, the initial federal tax would cut the prize to $342.4 million, and 13 percent additional federal taxes would cut it further to $283.8 million.

Illinois also taxes lottery winnings at a rate of 4.95 percent, which would reduce the winnings by a further $22.3 million.

Largest Powerball Jackpot Wins in 2026

The Illinois jackpot dwarfs other prizes awarded this year. The largest jackpots won so far in 2026 include:

Largest Powerball Jackpots of All Time

The winner in Illinois joins an exclusive club of billion-dollar Powerball prizes. The 10 largest jackpots of all time are:

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and James Debens

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