Who won Powerball lottery last night? Florida winner to get $1 million
Who won Powerball drawing for $1.04 billion on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026? A ticket from Quincy, Illinois, matched, with several $1 million wins, including in Florida.
For the 15th time in U.S. lottery history, a jackpot hit the $1 billion mark for last night’s drawing. The $1.04 billion jackpot was won just over two weeks after an $800 million jackpot was won in Florida.
Last night’s whopping Powerball jackpot was won in Illinois. But a Florida ticket holder woke up a millionaire today, Aug. 13, after winning a $1 million secondary prize just a few days after another Powerball ticket purchased in Florida won a $1 million prize in the Aug. 8 drawing.
Here’s what we know about the Illinois jackpot winner, how long the Powerball jackpot rolled over, what to know about winning lottery prizes in Florida and a list of the largest lottery jackpots of all time.
Who won the lottery last night? Powerball $1 billion jackpot won in Illinois
Soon after the 11 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, Powerball drawing for $1 billion, lottery officials noted online that a winner in Illinois matched all the numbers. On Thursday, Aug. 13, the Illinois Lottery revealed the winning ticket was purchased in Quincy, Illinois, and that final ticket sales had pushed the total to a whopping $1.04 billion.
The estimated cash option for the Wednesday, Aug. 12, pot increased to $450.5 million, according to Powerball online. Wednesday’s winning numbers were 4-26-66-67-69 and the Powerball was 9. Power Play was 2x
$1 million Powerball prize winner in Florida
In addition to the grand prize, there were several other second-tier winning tickets in Wednesday’s big Powerball drawing.
A Florida ticket was one of four, joining those bought in Arizona, California and North Carolina, that matched 5 for $1 million prizes. A bigger win went to a Massachusetts ticket which matched 5 plus the Power Play for a $2 million prize.
As of 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, the Florida Lottery has not announced where the second-tier, $1 million Powerball ticket was sold.
Has the Powerball jackpot ever hit $2 billion?
Yes! The Powerball jackpot has hit $2 billion once before, in 2022.
On Nov. 7, 2022, Edwin Castro of Altadena, California, became the richest lottery winner of all time when he won a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot.
How long did the Powerball jackpot roll over?
Last night’s Powerball jackpot had been rolling over since Monday, May 4th, 2026 − Star Wars Day − after a pair of tickets in Florida and Texas matched all six numbers in the Saturday, May 2, 2026, Powerball drawing, splitting the $20 million prize.
The May 2 Powerball winner from Florida will briefly remain anonymous, claiming a cash prize of $4,488,330.34, according to the Florida Lottery. The local ticket was purchased from La Caribena Grocery and Restaurant, 131 Buena Ventura Blvd., Kissimmee, Florida.
Interestingly, that jackpot was won just one drawing after resetting to $20 million, after two players in Indiana and Kansas matched all six numbers in the Wednesday, April 29, 2026, Powerball drawing to win a whopping $143 million. That April drawing had an incredibly high number of second-tier winners, 89 to be exact, though there were none from the Sunshine State.
Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots that hit $1 billion: See list
As of Aug. 13, 2026, there have been 15 lottery jackpots that have reached or surpassed $1 billion. Only once has a jackpot surpassed $2 billion.
Here are the biggest lottery jackpots in U.S. history:
- $2.04 billion Powerball prize, Nov. 7, 2022, Edwin Castro of Altadena, California
- $1.82 billion Powerball prize, Dec. 24, 2025, won by an anonymous player in Arkansas
- $1.79 billion Powerball prize, Sept. 6, 2025, tickets purchased in St. Louis, Missouri, and Fredericksburg, Texas
- $1.73 billion Powerball prize, Oct. 11, 2023, Theodorus Struyck of California (ticket purchased at Midway Market in California)
- $1.586 billion Powerball prize, Jan. 13, 2016, Marvin and Mae Acosta of California, Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt of Melbourne Beach, Florida, and John and Lisa Robinson of Munford, Tennessee
- $1.58 billion Mega Millions prize, Aug. 8, 2023, Saltines Holdings LLC of Miami, Florida
- $1.537 billion Mega Millions prize, Oct. 23, 2018, won by an anonymous player in South Carolina
- $1.348 billion Mega Millions prize, Jan. 13, 2023, LaKoma Island Investments, LLC, with the ticket purchased in Lebanon, Maine
- $1.337 billion Mega Millions prize, July 29, 2022, won by an anonymous partnership with a ticket purchased in Des Plaines, Illinois
- $1.326 billion Powerball prize, April 6, 2024, Cheng and Duanpen Saephan and Laiza Chao of Oregon
- $1.269 billion Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024, Rosemary Casarotti of California
- $1.128 billion Mega Millions prize, March 26, 2024, won by an anonymous winner in New Jersey with the ticket purchased at ShopRite Liquor No. 781 in Neptune Township, New Jersey
- $1.08 billion Powerball prize, July 19, 2023, Yanira Alvarez of California
- $1.05 billion Mega Millions prize, Jan. 22, 2021, won by the Wolverine FLL Club of Oakland County, Michigan
- $1.04 billion Powerball prize, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, won in Quincy, Illinois
What are the odds of hitting the Powerball jackpot?
According to Powerball.com, players have a 1 in 292.2 million chance to match all six numbers whether the jackpot is $20 million or $2 billion. Prizes range from $2 to the grand prize jackpot, which varies.
Can Powerball winners in Illinois stay anonymous?
According to Illinois Lottery rules, “if your prize is $250,000 or greater, you may request to keep your name and municipality of residence confidential by indicating that choice on the Illinois Lottery winner claim form. You must make this request at the time of claiming the prize. If you do not, to assure the public that prizes are won and awarded, the Illinois Lottery will routinely publish winner information, including the winner’s name, home city, and the amount won.”
How long do you have to cash in a Florida Lottery ticket?
Prizes for Florida Lottery must be claimed within 180 days (six months) from the date of the drawing. To claim a single-payment cash option, a winner has the first 60 days after the applicable draw date to claim it.
Can you stay anonymous if you win the lottery in Florida?
According to Florida Lottery’s website, winners cannot remain anonymous: “Florida law mandates that the Florida Lottery provide records containing information such as the winner’s name, city of residence, game won, date won, and amount won to any third party who requests the information.”
However, the “names of lottery winners claiming prizes of $250,000 or greater will be temporarily exempt from public disclosure for 90 days from the date the prize is claimed, unless otherwise waived by the winner.”
Lottery experts and lawyers have said there are ways to remain anonymous if you win.
Lianna Norman and Jennifer Sangalang are trending reporters for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, covering pop culture, lotteries, rocket launches, Florida wildlife, breaking news and more. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at floridatoday.com/newsletters.
This content is sourced from www.tcpalm.com and is shared for informational purposes only.
