Quincy Hy-Vee Sold $1.04 Billion Powerball Ticket, Securing $500,000 Bonus

Q: How much of the $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot will the Illinois winner actually take home after federal and state taxes?

If the Illinois winner takes the cash option of $450.5 million, the take-home amount would likely be about $261 million after federal and Illinois state taxes. Here is the rough math. Federal law requires an immediate 24% withholding on lottery prizes over $5,000, which would reduce the cash payout by about $108.1 million, leaving roughly $342.4 million at first. But that is only the upfront withholding. Because a jackpot of this size pushes the winner into the top federal income tax bracket, the effective federal tax bill would likely rise to about 37% overall, or roughly $166.7 million total on the $450.5 million cash prize. Illinois also taxes lottery winnings at a flat 4.95% state income tax rate. On $450.5 million, that would be about $22.3 million. Taken together, estimated federal and state taxes would total about $189 million, leaving about $261.5 million. If the winner instead chooses the advertised $1.04 billion annuity paid over 29 years, taxes would be spread across the annual payments rather than paid all at once. The total after-tax amount would depend on future federal tax rates, the winner’s other income and deductions, and whether Illinois tax law changes, but each payment would still be subject to federal income tax and the state’s 4.95% tax.

Q: Beyond the billion-dollar winner, how did this massive 44-draw Powerball streak create unexpected millionaires across five other states?

The 44-draw rollover did more than build a $1.04 billion jackpot in Illinois — it also produced six other seven-figure winners in five states. In Wednesday night’s drawing, one ticket sold in Massachusetts matched all five white balls and, because it included the Power Play option, won $2 million. Five more tickets matched the five white balls without the Powerball, each worth $1 million. Those were sold in Arizona, California, Florida and North Carolina, with one of those states accounting for two of the $1 million tickets. That pattern reflects how long jackpot runs can spread wealth well beyond the grand-prize winner. As the prize swelled over 44 drawings since May 2, ticket sales surged nationwide, creating more chances for players to hit Powerball’s second-tier prize by matching five numbers. The Power Play add-on, which costs an extra $1, doubled the Massachusetts winner’s prize from $1 million to $2 million. The broader streak had already been minting millionaires before Wednesday. In Monday’s drawing alone, tickets in California, Maryland and Tennessee matched all five white balls for at least $1 million, and the Tennessee ticket, with Power Play, was worth $2 million. So while Illinois produced the sole jackpot winner, the long rollover period also generated a wave of near-jackpot winners across multiple states.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 14

$1.04 billion Powerball jackpot ticket was sold at Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh on North 36th Street in Quincy, Illinois Lottery officials said, making it the state's second-largest lottery prize ever won.
The store will receive a $500,000 retailer bonus for selling the lone winning ticket from Wednesday's drawing, whose winner has one year to claim the prize.
Illinois law lets winners of more than $250,000 stay anonymous if they submit a written request to keep their name and hometown confidential.
The jackpot ended a 44-drawing rollover streak and carries a $450.5 million cash option, making it the largest U.S. lottery jackpot won this year.