A $2 stake won the billion dollar Powerball jackpot in Wednesday's draw, the largest win of 2026 and the eighth largest in the game's three-decade-long history. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A single $2 ticket purchased in western Illinois netted the owner the $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot in Wednesday's draw, the largest win of 2026 and the eighth largest in history of the game, said the Powerball Product Group.
White balls 4, 26, 66, 67, 69 and red Powerball 9 came out in the draw with the winning ticket a match for all six numbers, Powerball said in a news release. The Power Play multiplier was 2.
The winner, who bought the ticket at a Hy-Vee gas station in the Mississippi River town of Quincy, may opt to either receive the prize money as a taxable annuity split into 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or a one-time taxable cash payment of $450.5 million.
Last minute sales on Wednesday edged the jackpot over the $1 billion mark after building up over more than three months of rollovers since the last jackpot win when two tickets bought in Texas and Florida shared a prize of $20 million.
