A single Powerball ticket purchased at a gas station in western Illinois claimed Wednesday night’s massive $1 billion jackpot, bringing to an end a three-month stretch without a grand-prize winner.

Illinois Lottery officials announced that the winning ticket was sold at a Hy-Vee gas station in Quincy, a city along the Missouri border roughly 100 miles west of Springfield. The winning combination was 4-26-66-67-69, with a Powerball of 9.

Lottery officials said it was not immediately known whether the winner had come forward to claim the prize.

The jackpot winner can choose between receiving the full $1 billion through an annuity paid over 29 years or taking a one-time cash payout of $450.5 million. Historically, nearly all jackpot winners opt for the lump-sum payment.

The victory marks the first Powerball jackpot win since May 2, when a $20 million prize was claimed. It is also the first grand prize awarded since Powerball ticket sales expanded to the United Kingdom last month. With tickets costing $2 each, the odds of matching all six numbers remain approximately one in 292 million.

According to Powerball officials, the $1.04 billion prize ranks as the eighth-largest jackpot in the game’s history. Mega Millions has also produced jackpots exceeding the $1 billion mark.

“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.”

While only one ticket captured the jackpot, four other tickets sold in Arizona, California, Florida, and North Carolina matched the five white balls but missed the Powerball, earning prizes of $1 million each. Another ticket sold in Massachusetts also matched the five white balls and doubled its winnings to $2 million after the purchaser added the optional $1 “Power Play” multiplier.

In addition to the top prizes, more than 3 million tickets won smaller cash awards in Wednesday night’s drawing.

With the jackpot now claimed, the Powerball grand prize resets to $20 million for Saturday’s drawing.

The largest lottery jackpot ever awarded remains the more than $2 billion Powerball prize won in California in 2022.

{Matzav.com}