Illinois Powerball Player Scores $1.04 Billion Jackpot, Eighth Largest In History

The Powerball jackpot crossed the billion-dollar mark Wednesday for just the eighth time in history. But it isn’t going to make a run at $2 billion. Or even at $1.05 billion, for that matter.

A lucky customer in Illinois claimed the $1.04 billion grand prize in Wednesday’s drawing, perfectly matching the winning numbers 4, 26, 66, 67, 69, and red Powerball 9. The ticket was purchased at a Hy-Vee gas station in the town of Quincy, and the winner — who hasn’t come forward yet, at least publicly — has the choice between receiving the advertised payout across 30 years of annuity payments or taking a single lump-sum score before taxes of $450.5 million.

Ranked by annuity amount, this was the eighth-largest Powerball jackpot ever won. Counting Mega Millions, it became the 16th-largest jackpot in American draw game lottery history.

Wednesday’s drawing snapped a streak of 43 consecutive rollovers since two players — one in Florida, one in Texas — split a modest $20 million jackpot on May 2. That $20 million amount is what the jackpot resets to for this Saturday’s drawing.

How many tickets sold?

Lottery industry experts have noted in recent years that when jackpots swell to about $800 million, that’s when “lotto fever” begins to kick in and sales numbers take off exponentially. Lottery Geeks’ latest sales estimates support that and show that the Powerball volume was going to the next level as it crossed the billion-dollar barrier.

For Wednesday’s drawing, we estimate 80.9 million tickets were sold — a massive 69.6% increase over the estimated 47.7 million sold for the previous drawing Monday. And the 80.9 million figure is nearly triple the estimate from the prior Wednesday, when 28 million units were moved with the jackpot at $794 million.

In addition to the $1.04 billion winner, a player in Massachusetts hit the Match 5 plus the Power Play to claim a $2 million pre-tax score, and customers in Arizona, California, Florida, and North Carolina won $1 million apiece.

Mega Millions now becomes the home of the top available American jackpot, set at $90 million for Friday’s drawing.

Tickets for Mega Millions cost $5 and Powerball tickets cost $2. Most states offer the multiplier option for Powerball, which impacts any prize won except the jackpot, for an additional $1. Mega Millions comes with an automatic multiplier for any prize except the jackpot.

Both Powerball and Mega Millions are legal in all states except Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Tickets for both draw games are also sold in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico and the U.K., customers can buy tickets for Powerball, but not for Mega Millions.

All-time biggest jackpots

Here is a list of the all-time top 10 U.S. lottery jackpots:

1. $2.04 billion, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $1.82 billion, Powerball, Dec. 24, 2025, won in Arkansas
3. $1.79 billion, Powerball, Sept. 6, 2025, won in Missouri and Texas
4. $1.76 billion, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
5. $1.6 billion, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
6. $1.59 billion, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
7. $1.54 billion, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
8. $1.35 billion, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine
9. $1.34 billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
10. $1.33 billion, Powerball, April 6, 2024, won in Oregon

Here is the all-time top 10 by lump-sum cash value:

1. $997.6 million, Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022, won in California
2. $983.5 million, Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016, won in California, Florida, and Tennessee
3. $877.8 million, Mega Millions, Oct. 23, 2018, won in South Carolina
4. $834.9 million, Powerball, Dec. 24, 2025, won in Arkansas
5. $820.6 million, Powerball, Sept. 6, 2025, won in Missouri and Texas
6. $794.2 million, Mega Millions, Aug. 8, 2023, won in Florida
7. $780.5 million, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, won in Illinois
8. $776.6 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 22, 2021, won in Michigan
9. $774.1 million, Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023, won in California
10. $723.5 million, Mega Millions, Jan. 13, 2023, won in Maine