When luck smiles: winner of the American lottery wins $1.04 billion
An Illinois resident has won the largest prize of the year in the Powerball lottery. The winner can choose between receiving the full $1 billion prize or a one-time lump sum of $450.5 million in cash.
In the American Powerball lottery, an Illinois resident won the grand prize of $1.04 billion last Wednesday. It is the largest prize of the year in the history of the game, as reported this morning by the New York Post.
The winning numbers are 4, 26, 66, 67, 69 and the red Powerball 9. The identity of the winner has not yet been revealed. According to the report, the winner can choose between receiving the $1 billion prize or a one-time payment of $450.5 million in cash.
This win is the eighth largest in the history of the lottery and surpasses the $842.4 million prize recorded on New Year's Day in 2024. That historic prize was shared among "The Breakfast Club," who chose to receive $425.2 million in cash after purchasing the winning ticket at the Food Castle grocery store in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
The Powerball grand prize was last split on May 2, when two ticket holders from Texas and Florida shared $20 million. The winner from Texas, who remained anonymous, chose the option to receive $9 million in cash. Since the prize was split between two winners, the amount was reduced to $4.5 million. It was also reported that the ticket from Florida has not yet been claimed.
This win is the largest since Tracy Hartwick won $1.82 billion in the Powerball lottery held on Christmas Eve in Cabot, Arkansas. Hartwick, whose brother Terry Hartwick is serving his third term as mayor of North Little Rock, won the second-largest prize in Powerball history. The identity of that billionaire remained confidential for six months, as he is the brother of an elected official, in accordance with state law. Hartwick chose to receive the prize as a one-time cash lump sum and shared it with his other brother and a third party who is not a family member.
