A Powerball player in Illinois has won the $1.04 billion jackpot, marking the largest grand prize awarded in the game this year. The winning ticket was sold for Wednesday night's drawing.
The winning numbers were 4, 26, 66, 67, 69, and the red Powerball was 9. The identity of the ticket holder has not yet been released.
The winner has the option of receiving the $1.04 billion prize as an annuity paid over 30 years or opting for a one-time cash payout of $450.5 million. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are stated to be 1 in 292,201,338.
This win ranks as the eighth-largest jackpot in Powerball's history. It surpasses the previous largest jackpot of 2024, an $842.4 million prize won on New Year's Day by a group known as "The Breakfast Club" in Grand Blanc, Michigan. That winning ticket was purchased at a Food Castle grocery store.
The most recent Powerball jackpot prior to Wednesday's drawing was split between two ticket holders in Texas and Florida on May 2, who shared a $20 million prize. The Texas winner opted for the cash option, receiving $4.5 million after the split, while the Florida ticket remains unclaimed.
The current jackpot is the largest since a $1.82 billion Powerball prize was won on Christmas Eve in Cabot, Arkansas. That ticket holder, Tracy Hartwick, whose brother is an elected official, was able to claim the prize confidentially for six months due to state law. Hartwick chose the cash option and shared it with his brother and a third individual.