Billion with a capital B.
An incredible stroke of luck landed an Illinois Powerball player the year’s largest jackpot, totaling a staggering $1.04 billion on Wednesday night.
The winning combination that changed someone’s life consisted of the numbers 4, 26, 66, 67, 69, along with the red Powerball 9.
As they weigh their options, the mysterious winner has the choice to claim the full $1 billion or opt for a one-time payment of $450.5 million.
To put this remarkable win into perspective, the odds of securing the Powerball jackpot stand at a daunting 1 in 292,201,338.
It is the eighth-largest jackpot win in Powerball’s history, surpassing the $842.4 million winner on New Year’s Day in 2024.
The historic holiday prize was claimed by “The Breakfast Club,” who chose the $425.2 million cash sum after purchasing the winning ticket at a Food Castle grocery store in Grand Blanc, Mich.
Powerball’s grand prize was last hit when two ticket holders in Texas and Florida shared the $20 million payout on May 2.
The Texas player, who remained anonymous, chose the $9,000,000 cash option, which was split to $4,500,000 because of the share.
The Florida ticket remains unclaimed.
Wednesday’s win is the largest since Tracy Hartwick won the $1.82 billion Powerball jackpot drawing on Christmas Eve in Cabot, Arkansas.
Hartwick, whose brother Terry Hartwick is serving his third term as North Little Rock mayor, claimed the second-largest Powerball jackpot in history.
The new billionaire’s name remained confidential only for six months since he is the sibling of an elected official, according to Arkansas Act 889 of 2021.
Hartwick chose the one-time cash sum option and split it with his other brother and a third non-relative.