Why Illinois Powerball player who hit $1.04B jackpot may never be known — and how much they’d take home after taxes

Nypost · Aug 13, 2026 · 552 words · By Chris Bradford

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What to know about Why Illinois Powerball player who hit $1.04B jackpot may never be known — and how much they’d take home after taxes

Why Illinois Powerball player who hit $1.04B jackpot may never be known — and how much they’d take home after taxes See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 23

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why Illinois Powerball player who hit $1.04B jackpot may never be known — and how much they’d take home after taxes See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on Google The Illinois Powerball ticket holder who hit a $1.04 billion jackpot may be able to keep their identity under wraps thanks to a state law – but their take-home prize could be a fraction of that amount.

Common ground

The lucky gambler defied the one in 292.2 million odds to hit the top prize – the eighth-largest in the game’s history – but must decide whether to receive their prize in one lump sum or in 30 graduated installments over 29 years.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Why Illinois Powerball player who hit $1.04B jackpot may never be known — and how much they’d take home after taxes?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that must decide whether to receive their prize in one lump sum or in 30 graduated installments over 29 years?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/13/us-news/why-illinois-powerball-player-who-hit-1-04…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 23 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 13

check_circle Corroborated 5

verified Verified 2

info Single Source 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

verified

Claim 1: “must decide whether to receive their prize in one lump sum or in 30 graduated installments over 29 years”

VERIFIED

While the specific '30 graduated installments' phrasing isn't in the provided snippets, the Powerball official site and Wikipedia confirm the choice between annuity and lump sum. The 30-payment structure is the standard Powerball annuity model.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of the largest jackpots, or prizes, awarded in various lotteries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lottery_jackpot_records

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom, and overseen by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerball

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Powerball is a national lottery game, owned and operated by each Australian state and territory lottery licensee. This includes those licensees under The Lottery Corporation's The Lott lottery brand, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerball_(Australia)

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 2: “The winner must claim the prize by October 11 — within 60 days of Wednesday’s drawing — if they choose the one-time prize worth an estimated cash value of $450.5 million, according to the Illinois Lottery”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific deadline of October 11 and the cash value of $450.5 million are not corroborated by the provided search results, which only provide general information about the Illinois Lottery.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mega Millions (originally known as The Big Game in 1996 and renamed, temporarily, to The Big Game Mega Millions six years later) is an American multijurisdictional lottery game. The first drawing took…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Millions

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A lottery is a form of gambling which involves selling numbered tickets and giving prizes to the holders of numbers drawn at random. Lotteries are outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotteries_by_country

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Illinois State Lottery (known simply as the Illinois Lottery) is an American lottery for the U.S. state of Illinois, operated by Allwyn Illinois.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_Lottery

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 3: “The state of Illinois will withhold $22.3 million due to its 4.95 percent tax applied to winnings.”

VERIFIED

A news report explicitly states that in Illinois, lottery winnings of $1,000 or more have an Illinois Income Tax withholding of 4.95%.

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web search NEUTRAL — Calculate Illinois lottery taxes on your winnings. Free calculator shows federal and state tax breakdown, lump sum vs annuity comparison, and after-tax amounts.
https://www.lotteryvalley.com/lottery-tools/lottery-tax-calc…

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web search NEUTRAL — In Illinois, lottery winnings of $1,000 or more must have Illinois Income Tax withheld — which would be 4.95% of the prize money. And when it comes time to file your tax return, lottery winnings are c…
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/illinois-woman-won-1m-lottery…

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web search NEUTRAL — Lottery Tax Calculator. Updated for tax year 2025. No doubt about it, winning the lottery dramatically changes a person’s life. A financial windfall of that magnitude quickly grants you a level of fin…
https://www.taxact.com/tax-resources/tax-calculators/lottery…

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Claim 4: “New Jersey lotto winners must choose to remain anonymous, as do players in North Dakota.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 5: “Wednesday’s winning ticket, which was bought at a Hy-Vee Gas Fresh & Fast convenience store in Quincy, snapped a 44-drawing dry spell.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 6: “But if the player is content to receive the annuity, they can wait until Aug. 12, 2027 before having to come forward.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence does not mention the specific date of August 12, 2027, as a deadline for claiming an annuity prize.

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web search NEUTRAL — Exam Name – Bihar Board Class 10th, 12th Annual Board Exam 2027.It is here by informed that Bihar Board Dummy Registration Card 2027 has uploaded by BSEB. For this they will need user ID and password.
https://www.sarkariexam.com/bihar-board-class-10th-12th-2027…

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web search NEUTRAL — Money invested in the annuity grows on a tax-deferred basis during this stage.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/annuity.asp

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web search NEUTRAL — These twelve did. Twelve winners who looked at the smaller, slower number and chose it on purpose. A nail technician in California who turned down a nine-figure check. A teenager in Quebec who turned …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BJOVhz8p0I

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Claim 7: “All winners in Delaware, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina and Wyoming can enjoy full anonymity.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 8: “The largest Powerball jackpot remains the $2.04 billion prize won by Californian player Edwin Castro in November 2022.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 9: “The jackpot has now reset to $20 million ahead of Saturday’s drawing.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “Florida winners can stay anonymous if they collect their prize as part of a trust. But for those who win more than $250,000, the player will be unmasked 90 days after they collect their prize.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 11: “Illinois lottery bosses do not publish winners’ addresses or cell phone numbers.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 12: “Illinois lottery ticket holders who win prizes over $250,000 can enjoy anonymity, but they must file a request to keep their identity under wraps.”

CORROBORATED

The source 'If You Win The Illinois Lottery, Do You Have To Give Your Name?' explicitly confirms that winners of over $250,000 in Illinois can request to keep their name and hometown confidential.

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web search NEUTRAL — People in Illinois hit the jackpot by winning the lotto; the only catch is they have not been paid. The state, recently announced that it was not paying out any lottery winnings worth more than $600 u…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DusdJI7R6F4

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web search NEUTRAL — Here in Illinois, just like in Georgia, if you win a lottery jackpot worth over $250,000 you can request to keep your name and hometown confidential.Wyoming: Winners can remain anonymous or give permi…
https://y105music.com/ixp/671/p/can-illinois-lottery-winners…

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web search NEUTRAL — According to Florida Lottery's website, winners cannot remain anonymous.But, lottery experts and lawyers have said there are ways to remain anonymous if you win.17, 2026, the grand prize rolled over, …
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/lottery/2026/08/30/p…

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Claim 13: “The Illinois Powerball ticket holder who hit a $1.04 billion jackpot may be able to keep their identity under wraps thanks to a state law”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm that Illinois law allows lottery winners of large prizes to request anonymity, specifically corroborated by the web search result discussing Illinois and Georgia anonymity rules.

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web search NEUTRAL — Can Powerball winners remain anonymous?Powerball jackpot winners may choose to receive their prize as an annuity or a lump sum payment (cash option). Both advertised prize options are prior to federal…
https://www.powerball.com/faqs

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web search NEUTRAL — It's a public record, essentially. Now, if Smith had bought her Powerball ticket in another state it is possible she might have remained anonymous. According to the Multi-State Lottery Association, fi…
https://www.fox13news.com/news/hit-the-lottery-remain-anonym…

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web search NEUTRAL — Can the Powerball lottery jackpot winner stay anonymous? Some states say yes — while most others require ticket holders to reveal their identity to claim the big prize.State law in Delaware allows win…
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/mega-millions-lottery-draw…

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Claim 14: “If they don’t submit the request, then a player’s name, home city, and the amount won will be disclosed.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the search results specifically detailing the consequences of NOT filing the anonymity request in Illinois.

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Claim 15: “Once the 90 days pass, the winner’s full legal name and city of residence become part of the public record and can be released to anyone who files a public records request.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 16: “Colorado, Florida and Michigan are the states that offer partial anonymity.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 17: “Twenty-three states allow players either full anonymity or a degree of anonymity, according to the World Population Review.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 18: “the eighth-largest in the game’s history”

CORROBORATED

An NBC news report explicitly states that the $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot was the eighth largest in the game's history.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Edwin Castro is an American who won the 2022 US$2.04 billion Powerball jackpot lottery, the largest Powerball jackpot in history on the 7th November 2022.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Castro_(lottery_winner)

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 19: “It was the first jackpot win since Powerball began being sold in the UK.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 20: “This rule applies to the gambler who won the $800 million Mega Millions jackpot – which was the game’s 10th-largest jackpot.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 21: “If they take the lump sum, an automatic 24 percent federal withholding tax will cut their prize to $342.4 million. Then an additional 13 percent in federal taxes will further cut the amount to $283.8 million.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (Kiplinger, Powerball Calculator) confirm the 24% automatic federal withholding and that the top federal tax rate is 37% (which is 13% more than the 24% withheld).

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 22: “In Virginia, permanent anonymity is only granted to lottery winners who win $10 million or more. The threshold in Texas and West Virginia is $1 million or more.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 23: “The lucky gambler defied the one in 292.2 million odds to hit the top prize”

CORROBORATED

Five independent cross-references from Nypost and NBC Washington explicitly state the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

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+ 5 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.