$1.04 Billion Powerball Winner From Quincy Ticket Comes Forward to Claim Prize
The mystery surrounding one of the largest lottery wins in Illinois history has taken another step forward, although the identity of the person holding Quincy’s billion-dollar ticket will remain private.
QUINCY, Ill. More than a month after a Powerball ticket purchased in Quincy stunned the community with a $1.04 billion jackpot, the winner has officially come forward to claim the prize.
The Illinois Lottery confirmed that the holder of the winning ticket from the Aug. 12 drawing has completed the claim process. The winner has chosen to remain anonymous, meaning one of the biggest questions circulating around Quincy since the drawing may never be answered publicly.
The winning ticket was purchased at Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh, 310 N. 36th Street in Quincy, and matched all six numbers in the Aug. 12 Powerball drawing: 4, 26, 66, 67, 69 and Powerball 9. The jackpot became the second-largest lottery prize ever won in Illinois and the eighth-largest Powerball jackpot in the game’s history.
ABC7 Chicago first reported Tuesday that the winner had stepped forward and elected to take the prize as a lump-sum payment rather than through the long-term annuity option.
The advertised $1.04 billion jackpot represented the annuity value. Powerball listed the cash value for the Aug. 12 drawing at $450.5 million before applicable taxes.
Winner Says the Reality Is Still Sinking In
While the winner’s identity remains confidential, the Illinois Lottery released a brief glimpse into the moment the ticket holder realized what had happened.
The winner said, “I initially didn’t believe I had won,” and contacted a family member to help confirm the numbers. Even after formally claiming the prize, the winner described still processing the extraordinary news and experiencing emotions ranging from shock to elation.
Illinois law allows lottery winners receiving prizes of $250,000 or more to request that their names and municipalities of residence remain confidential. The request must be made when the prize is claimed.
As a result, the Illinois Lottery has not publicly disclosed whether the winner actually lives in Quincy, elsewhere in Adams County or somewhere outside the immediate area.
The only location that has been firmly established publicly is where the winning ticket was purchased.
Quincy Became the Center of Powerball Attention Overnight
The billion-dollar win immediately generated excitement and speculation throughout Quincy after the Illinois Lottery announced on Aug. 13 that the sole jackpot-winning ticket had been sold locally.
Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh store manager Jon Marshall previously said customers quickly began coming into the store to check tickets and speculate about who might be holding the winning numbers.
The store itself also received a significant windfall. The Illinois Lottery awarded the Quincy Hy-Vee location a $500,000 retailer bonus for selling the jackpot-winning ticket.
The jackpot concluded a Powerball run that had begun in May. During that period, Illinois players purchased more than $53.8 million in Powerball tickets, generating more than $21.5 million for the state’s Common School Fund, according to the Illinois Lottery.
The Mystery Winner May Stay a Mystery
For weeks after the drawing, the identity of the winner became one of Quincy’s favorite unanswered questions.
Was the ticket purchased by a longtime Quincy resident who faced legal troubles?
Someone passing through town?
A local worker stopping for gas?
A visitor who happened to buy a ticket at precisely the right place and time?
Unless the winner eventually chooses to identify themselves, those questions could remain unanswered.
What is now known is that the ticket was not forgotten in a glove compartment or hidden unknowingly in a wallet. The person holding it has stepped forward, completed the claim process and chosen the cash option associated with one of the largest lottery jackpots in Illinois history.
The identity may remain a secret.
But the address attached to the winning ticket will continue to be unmistakably Quincy, Illinois.
