On Wednesday, August 13, the Powerball lottery draw took place in the United States, and a jackpot-winning ticket was sold in Illinois, winning the staggering amount of 10.4 billion US dollars. According to official lottery sources, this is one of the largest Powerball jackpots in recent memory.
The winning numbers for the jackpot were reported by CNN as 4, 26, 66, 67, 69, with the Powerball number being 9, and a Power Play multiplier of 2x.
The winning ticket was sold at a Hy-Vee gas station in Quincy, a city in western Illinois, approximately 100 miles west of the state capital, Springfield.
The store manager of the gas station, Jon Marshall, revealed that since early Thursday morning, he has been receiving numerous calls and messages inquiring about the identity of the winner.
Illinois Lottery officials stated that the retailer who sold the jackpot-winning ticket will receive a bonus of 500,000 US dollars.
Harold Mays, the director of the Illinois Lottery, described it as an exciting day for the state of Illinois.
Under the rules, the winner has one year from the drawing date to claim the prize. The identity of the winner has not been disclosed yet. According to Illinois regulations, the winner has the option to remain anonymous, and there is a certain period of time to decide whether to go public.
The winner can choose to receive the 10.4 billion US dollars in annuity payments over 29 years or opt for a lump sum cash payout estimated at around 4.505 billion US dollars, both amounts are pre-tax.
According to the Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates the game, the August 13 drawing was the 44th consecutive drawing of this round. The most recent jackpot winners were in Florida and Texas on May 2, sharing a prize of 20 million US dollars.
This jackpot amount ranks as the 8th largest in Powerball history. The highest Powerball jackpot ever was 20.4 billion US dollars in California in 2022, followed by the 18 billion US dollar jackpot in Arkansas in December last year.
Powerball tickets are currently sold in 45 states across the U.S., the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
After this jackpot was won, the prize reset to 20 million US dollars, and the next drawing is scheduled for Saturday, August 15.
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are approximately 1 in 292.2 million. In comparison, based on data from the National Weather Service, the chances of being struck by lightning in a single year are even higher, at about 1 in 1.22 million.
According to the International Shark Attack File, the likelihood of being fatally bitten by a shark in one’s lifetime is about 1 in 4.3 million.