Powerball ticket holder in Illinois wins $1.04 billion jackpot

Billion with a capital B.

A Powerball player in Illinois won the $1.04 billion jackpot Wednesday night, the game’s largest grand prize of the year.

The winning numbers were 4, 26, 66, 67, 69 and the red Powerball 9.

The ticket holder, who has yet to be identified, can choose between the $1 billion prize or a one-time $450.5 million cash payout.

The odds of hitting the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338.

It is the eighth-largest jackpot win in Powerball’s history, surpassing the $842.4 million winner on New Year’s Day in 2024.

The historic holiday prize was claimed by “The Breakfast Club,” who chose the $425.2 million cash sum after purchasing the winning ticket at a Food Castle grocery store in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Powerball’s grand prize was last hit when two ticket holders in Texas and Florida shared the $20 million payout on May 2.

The Texas player, who remained anonymous, chose the $9,000,000 cash option, which was split to $4,500,000 because of the share.

The Florida ticket remains unclaimed.

Wednesday’s win is the largest since Tracy Hartwick won the $1.82 billion Powerball jackpot drawing on Christmas Eve in Cabot, Arkansas.

Hartwick, whose brother Terry Hartwick is serving his third term as North Little Rock mayor, claimed the second-largest Powerball jackpot in history.

The new billionaire’s name remained confidential only for six months since he is the sibling of an elected official, according to Arkansas Act 889 of 2021.

Hartwick chose the one-time cash sum option and split it with his other brother and a third non-relative.