Somewhere in Illinois, a person may be waking up with a small piece of paper worth more than a billion dollars—and the winner’s identity remains a mystery.
A single Powerball ticket sold in Quincy matched all six numbers drawn Wednesday night, capturing the staggering $1.04 billion jackpot and ending a 44-drawing stretch without a grand-prize winner.
The winning numbers were 4, 26, 66, 67 and 69, with red Powerball 9.
Follow @allchronologyThe life-changing ticket was purchased at Hy-Vee Gas Fresh & Fast in Quincy, according to the Illinois Lottery. But as news of the extraordinary win spread, the person holding it had not yet been publicly identified.
That ticket now presents its owner with a decision almost as overwhelming as the jackpot itself.
The winner can choose the full estimated $1.04 billion prize through an annuity paid over time or accept an immediate lump-sum cash payment of approximately $450.5 million before taxes.
Either choice would produce unimaginable wealth—but not quite the headline figure deposited into a bank account overnight.
The cash option would be subject to an automatic 24 percent federal withholding. The winner could owe an additional 13 percent in federal taxes, along with Illinois’ 4.95 percent withholding, depending on the final tax calculation.
Even after those deductions, the prize would leave the winner with a fortune capable of transforming generations of a family.
The jackpot is the largest Powerball prize awarded in 2026 and the eighth largest in the game’s history. It surpasses the $842.4 million jackpot won on New Year’s Day in 2024.
“Congratulations to our newest Powerball jackpot winner in Illinois,” Powerball chair Stephen Durrell said.
Follow @allchronology“As participation continues to grow across markets, players are helping fuel larger jackpots and create even greater excitement for the game.”
The winning ticket beat odds of approximately 1 in 292.2 million.
To place that figure in perspective, a player is dramatically more likely to be struck by lightning during a lifetime than to correctly select all five white balls and the Powerball in a single drawing.
Yet someone who stopped at a Quincy convenience store accomplished exactly that.
The win marks only the third time a Powerball jackpot ticket has been sold in Illinois. The state’s previous jackpot victory came more than 13 years ago, when Ted Baumgartner of Freeport won $50 million in March 2013.
Baumgartner, a father of three, selected a cash payment of approximately $31.4 million.
Wednesday’s winner is entering an entirely different financial universe.
The jackpot had been growing since May 2, when ticket holders in Texas and Florida shared a $20 million grand prize. The Texas winner claimed a cash option, while the Florida ticket reportedly remained unclaimed at the time of the new drawing.
Forty-four unsuccessful drawings followed, sending the jackpot beyond the billion-dollar threshold and fueling an enormous surge of national interest.
Follow @allchronologyWednesday night also created several new millionaires who came painfully close to taking everything.
A Massachusetts ticket matched all five white balls and included the Power Play option, producing a $2 million prize.
Four additional tickets sold in Arizona, California, Florida and North Carolina matched the five white numbers. Each won $1 million but missed the red Powerball that would have delivered the full jackpot.
For the Illinois winner, the immediate priority is protecting the ticket.
Lottery experts generally advise jackpot winners to sign the back, photograph it, store it securely and seek independent legal and financial advice before making a public announcement or claiming the money.
A billion-dollar win can attract distant relatives, old acquaintances, investment proposals and people seeking financial assistance. The winner must also consider privacy, estate planning, charitable giving and how to manage a sudden fortune without allowing it to destroy personal relationships.
The store that sold the winning ticket is also likely to become a local landmark overnight. Customers will wonder whether the winner is a regular resident, a traveler passing through Quincy or someone who has not yet checked the numbers.
The historic win comes months after Tracy Hartwick claimed a $1.82 billion jackpot from a ticket sold in Cabot, Arkansas, on Christmas Eve 2025. That prize was the second largest in Powerball history.
Follow @allchronologyHartwick chose the lump-sum option and shared the money with his brother and another individual.
The new Illinois winner has not yet revealed whether the $1.04 billion ticket was purchased alone or as part of a group.
Until the prize is claimed, the mystery will consume Quincy.
Somebody walked into Hy-Vee Gas Fresh & Fast, purchased what appeared to be an ordinary lottery ticket and left carrying one of the most valuable pieces of paper in America.
They may already know.
They may be quietly assembling a team of attorneys and financial advisers.
Or the ticket may still be lying unchecked in a wallet, glove compartment or kitchen drawer.
One thing is certain: Somewhere out there is America’s newest Powerball winner—and one glance at six numbers is about to divide that person’s life into everything that came before and everything that happens next.
