One ticket sold at a Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh in Quincy matched all six numbers in the Wednesday, August 12 Powerball drawing to win $1.04 billion - the second-largest lottery prize ever won in Illinois and the eighth-largest jackpot in Powerball history.
A billion-dollar ticket from a river town
The longest Powerball run of 2026 ended on a Wednesday night in a western Illinois town of about 40,000 people. A single ticket sold at the Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh at 310 N. 36th St. in Quincy matched all six numbers in the August 12 drawing and won a jackpot of $1.04 billion. Quincy sits on the Mississippi near the Iowa border, roughly 311 miles southwest of Chicago - about as far from the state's big-city lottery heartland as you can get and still be in Illinois.
The numbers, and what they were worth
The winning line was 4, 26, 66, 67 and 69, with the red Powerball 9. Only one ticket anywhere in the game matched all six, so the entire advertised jackpot goes to a single winner. The prize can be taken as 30 payments spread over 29 years, each 5 percent larger than the last, or as a one-time cash payment of $450.5 million. Both figures are before taxes.
Second-biggest in Illinois history
The Illinois Lottery called the prize the second-largest ever won in the state. Nationally it lands as the largest Powerball jackpot won so far in 2026 and the eighth-largest in the game's history - the payoff of a run that had been building since early May without a top-tier winner.
The winner may never be named
Illinois does not require players who win $250,000 or more to be identified publicly, so the state's newest billionaire can stay anonymous if they choose. They have one year from the drawing date to come forward, and lottery officials have urged the ticket holder to sign the back and keep it somewhere safe until they are ready to claim.
A $500,000 night for the store, too
Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh earns a $500,000 cash bonus for selling the winning ticket. The Illinois Lottery also noted the run's public-education dividend: since the jackpot sequence began on May 4, players in the state bought more than $53.8 million in Powerball tickets, generating over $21.5 million for the Common School Fund that supports K-12 education in Illinois.
Playing Powerball from outside the US
You do not need to be in Illinois - or in the United States - to take part in a Powerball drawing. A licensed lottery courier can buy an official ticket on your behalf and hold it securely: you pick five main numbers and a Powerball, choose a drawing, and you are entered from wherever you are.
This article is reported from published reports and official lottery announcements. Details were accurate as reported; prize amounts and winner details can change as claims are processed - verify with the official operator. Amounts are shown in each game's own currency. TopLotteryOnline is not affiliated with any lottery operator. 18+. Play responsibly.
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