Someone in Illinois Just Won $1.04 Billion in the Powerball—Legally, They Can Stay Anonymous Forever

13 Aug 2026, 16:11 · Thought Catalog

PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP via Getty Images

Updated 7 seconds ago, August 13, 2026

A single ticket bought at a gas station in Quincy, Illinois just made somebody into a billionaire.

Digital jackpot signs outside a Manhattan newsstand showed Mega Millions at $100 million and Powerball at $1.6 billion ahead of what would have been one of the largest lottery drawings in U.S. history on Dec. 22, 2025. Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images.

The Powerball jackpot has been rolling over since May and Wednesday’s drawing was for $1.04 billion. The winning ticket was sold at a Hy-Vee gas station on 36th Street in Quincy, Illinois, according to state lottery officials.

The winner has not yet come forward.

Powerball lottery tickets on display at an Austin, Texas convenience store on December 19, 2025, as the jackpot swelled to $1.5 billion. Photo by Brandon Bell / Getty Images.

The winner can take the estimated $1.040 billion annuity, paid in 30 installments over 29 years, or a $450.5 million lump-sum cash payout before taxes. Most winners take the cash.

The winning numbers were 4-26-66-67-69 with a Powerball of 9.

A Manhattan newsstand displays a Powerball jackpot advertisement as the prize climbed to $1.8 billion in September 2025. Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images.

Nobody had hit the jackpot since May 2, when tickets in Texas and Florida split a $20 million prize. Drawing after drawing rolled over from there, building into one of the largest jackpots Powerball has ever awarded.

There’s a good chance the public never learns who won. Illinois lets winners of $250,000 or more keep their name and city confidential by checking a box when they claim, and big-jackpot winners routinely take it. To collect, the ticket holder signs the back and brings it and ID to lottery headquarters (usually by appointment for a prize this size). They have up to one year to claim.

Lottery hopefuls queue up at Bluebird Liquor Store in Hawthorne, California on September 1, 2025, with one woman brandishing her Powerball tickets ahead of the Labor Day draw. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images.

Then the tax bite. Federal withholding starts at 24%, but the real federal rate runs up to 37%, and Illinois takes its cut on top. A cash winner typically walks away with roughly half of the $450.5 million headline number.

That’s why winners usually go quiet for days or weeks first. Lawyers, financial advisors, trusts for privacy and tax planning, and a plan for the flood of calls from family, friends, and strangers all get lined up before anyone signs anything.

In Bloomfield, N.J., on July 18, 2026, a lottery vending machine bearing the New Jersey Lottery Powerball logo provides the backdrop as a printed Powerball ticket is held up in front of it. Photo by USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.

The night had other winners too. A player in Massachusetts won $2 million, and four more took home $1 million each on tickets sold in Arizona, California, Florida, and North Carolina.

The next drawing is Saturday, Aug. 15, and the jackpot resets to an estimated $20 million.

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