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About Clucking Hell
The mystery surrounding who won the $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot drawn on Aug. 12, 2026, has been solved—sort of. The Illinois Lottery announced that the winner came forward this week to claim the prize but chose to remain anonymous.
The big Powerball winner took advantage of Section 7.2 of the Illinois Lottery Law, which governs disclosure rules regarding winners’ identities.
Under Section 7.2, a winner of a prize of $250,000 or more can request to keep their name and municipality of residence confidential while completing their Illinois Lottery Winner Claim Form.
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The arguments came as Scotts Valley asked US District Judge Trevor McFadden to issue a preliminary injunction blocking Interior’s July 30 decision. The outcome of the dispute directly threatens the tribe’s much larger ambition for the site: a proposed $700 million casino resort and hotel.
Under IGRA, gaming is generally prohibited on land taken into trust after 1988 unless it qualifies under specific exceptions. Scotts Valley claims its Vallejo property falls under the “restored lands” exception for federally recognized tribes.
While Interior agreed that Scotts Valley met requirements regarding its modern ties to the area and the timing of the acquisition, the department ultimately concluded the tribe failed to demonstrate a sufficiently significant historical connection to the land.
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Longtime gaming and lottery advocate, Sen. Greg Albritton (R-District 22), also collected a $10,000 check from the sweepstakes firm.
Since April 1, VGW has made 36 political contributions across Alabama.
Sweepstakes casino platforms like VGW have ramped up their lobbying efforts in state capitals after suffering numerous operational setbacks in recent years.