Illinois Player Wins $1.04 Billion Powerball Jackpot

An Illinois lottery player has won the $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot from Wednesday night’s drawing, making it the largest U.S. lottery prize of 2026 so far. Despite the headline-breaking jackpot, the winner will receive considerably less after choosing a payout option and accounting for federal and Illinois taxes.

The winning numbers were 4, 26, 66, 67 and 69, with Red Powerball 9. The winner has yet to come forward and will ultimately have to decide between taking the advertised jackpot through 30 annual payments or accepting a one-time cash option worth $450.5 million.

For a winner who chooses the lump sum, the initial $450.5 million cash prize would be reduced to about $342.4 million following the mandatory 24% federal withholding. Because lottery winnings are taxable income, the winner could ultimately face a federal marginal tax rate of up to 37%, bringing the after-federal-tax amount to roughly $283.8 million.

The annuity option would provide annual payments of approximately $34.7 million over 30 years. At a 37% federal marginal tax rate, each yearly payment would fall to about $21.8 million.

Illinois also taxes lottery winnings. The state applies a flat 4.95% tax rate, which would amount to about $22.3 million on the lump-sum payout. That state tax would be withheld when the winner claims the prize.

The $1.04 billion jackpot surpasses the $800 million Mega Millions prize won by a Florida ticket holder last Tuesday, making it the largest lottery jackpot of the year to date. Before Wednesday’s Powerball drawing, the biggest Powerball jackpot of 2026 had been a $250.8 million prize claimed by a lottery player in Arkansas.

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot remain extraordinarily low at 1 in 292.2 million. Those odds are slightly worse than Mega Millions, where players face a 1-in-290.4 million chance of winning the top prize.

Powerball also expanded its reach last month by allowing players in the U.K. to participate for the first time. Officials said the additional ticket sales are expected to contribute to “faster-growing jackpots” by increasing the money flowing into the prize pool. Had a U.K. player won Wednesday’s jackpot, however, they would have been limited to the 30-year annuity option rather than receiving a lump-sum payment.

Ahead of Wednesday night’s drawing, the U.K. National Lottery had advertised a jackpot of about £503 million, equivalent to $679.5 million. U.K. officials said that figure represented the estimated amount a winner would receive over 30 years after exchange rates and U.K. tax requirements were taken into consideration.