It is a midsummer night’s dream for one Powerball player.
A Powerball ticket sold in Illinois matched all six numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, winning an estimated $1.040 billion jackpot, lottery officials said.
The numbers drawn for Wednesday’s grand prize, the eighth-largest in the promotion’s history, were 4-26-66-67-69 and the Powerball was 9, according to the promotion’s website. There was a 2X Power Play multiplier.
The lump-sum cash value for the winner is $450.5 million.
The lucky winner may choose to receive the prize as an annuity, paid out in 30 graduated payments over 29 years; or as a one-time lump-sum cash payment. Both prize options are listed before applicable federal and state taxes.
The jackpot now resets to $20 million for Saturday’s drawing, with an estimated cash value of $8.7 million.
There had been 44 drawings since the Powerball grand prize was last won on May 2, 2026. On that night, two tickets sold in Florida and Texas split a $20 million grand prize.
“Congratulations to our newest Powerball jackpot winner in Illinois,” Stephen Durrell, Chair of the Powerball Product Group and executive director of the Kansas Lottery, said in a statement. “For more than three decades, Powerball has shown that a winning ticket can be sold anywhere the game is played, giving every $2 ticket the chance to change not only a winner’s life, but generations to come.
“As participation continues to grow across markets, players are helping fuel larger jackpots and create even greater excitement for the game.”
Five tickets matched five numbers on Wednesday. Four $1 million winning tickets were sold in Arizona, California, Florida and North Carolina. A Match 5 plus the Power Play option was worth $2 million and was sold in Massachusetts.
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, lottery officials said.
The largest jackpot in Powerball history is $2.04 billion, won by a single ticket in California on Nov. 7, 2022.
The winning Powerball jackpot is the largest since a $1.817 billion prize was won in Arkansas on Dec. 24, 2025. That is still the second-largest jackpot in the promotion’s history.
Powerball tickets cost $2 per play and are sold in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. States that do not participate are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.
Drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET from the Powerball draw studio in Florida and streamed live on Powerball.com.
Top 10 Powerball jackpots
- $2.04 billion – Nov. 7, 2022 (One ticket from California).
- $1.817 billion – Dec. 24, 2025 (One ticket from Arkansas).
- $1.787 billion – Sept. 6, 2025 (Two tickets – one each from Missouri and Texas).
- $1.765 billion – Oct. 11, 2023 (One ticket from California).
- $1.586 billion – Jan. 13, 2016 (Three tickets: One each from California, Florida and Tennessee).
- $1.326 billion – April 6, 2024 (One ticket from Oregon)
- $1.08 billion – July 19, 2023 (One ticket from California).
- $1.04 billion – Aug. 12, 2026 (One ticket from Illinois).
- $842.4 million – Jan. 1, 2024 (One ticket from Michigan).
- $768.4 million – March 27, 2019 (One ticket from Wisconsin).
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