In November 2022, a single lottery ticket purchased at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, California was worth $2.04 billion. The winner, Edwin Castro, took the lump sum and received roughly $628 million after taxes — still the largest amount ever paid to a single lottery winner in world history. That jackpot was not a fluke. It was the product of 40 consecutive draws with no winner, a ticket price that doubled in 2015, and a US lottery audience that has grown to include nearly every state. Here are the 10 largest US lottery jackpots ever recorded.
How Jackpots Got So Big
The short answer: harder odds and more players. Powerball changed its matrix in 2015, pushing jackpot odds from 1 in 175 million to 1 in 292 million. Mega Millions made a similar move in 2017, going from 1 in 258 million to 1 in 302 million. Both games also raised ticket prices from $1 to $2.
Longer odds mean fewer winners per draw. Fewer winners mean jackpots roll over more often. Jackpots that roll over attract more attention, which drives more ticket sales, which grows the jackpot faster. This self-reinforcing cycle — engineered deliberately by lottery designers — is why jackpots above $1 billion have become almost routine since 2016. Before 2016, no US lottery jackpot had ever exceeded $700 million. Since then, there have been more than a dozen jackpots above $1 billion.
The 10 Biggest US Lottery Jackpots Ever
| Rank | Game | Jackpot | Date | Location | Winners | Cash Value (pre-tax) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Powerball | $2.04 billion | Nov 7, 2022 | Altadena, CA | 1 | ~$997.6M |
| 2 | Mega Millions | $1.58 billion | Aug 8, 2023 | Neptune Beach, FL | 1 | ~$794.2M |
| 3 | Powerball | $1.586 billion | Jan 13, 2016 | CA / FL / TN | 3 | ~$983.5M split |
| 4 | Mega Millions | $1.537 billion | Oct 23, 2018 | South Carolina | 1 | ~$878M |
| 5 | Powerball | $1.326 billion | Apr 6, 2024 | Portland, OR | 1 | ~$621M |
| 6 | Mega Millions | $1.35 billion | Jan 13, 2023 | Maine | 1 | ~$724.6M |
| 7 | Powerball | $1.08 billion | Jul 19, 2023 | Los Angeles, CA | 1 | ~$558.1M |
| 8 | Mega Millions | $1.05 billion | Jan 22, 2021 | Michigan | 1 | ~$776.6M |
| 9 | Powerball | $768.4 million | Mar 27, 2019 | New Berlin, WI | 1 | ~$477M |
| 10 | Powerball | $730 million | Jan 20, 2021 | Lonaconing, MD | 1 | ~$546.8M |
Notes on the Rankings
The January 2016 Powerball jackpot of $1.586 billion technically ranks third by dollar amount but was won by three separate tickets — sold in Chino Hills, California; Munford, Tennessee; and Melbourne Beach, Florida. Each winner's share of the lump sum was roughly $327 million before taxes. In terms of the largest single prize ever received by one winner, the 2022 Powerball jackpot remains the record.
The Mega Millions $1.537 billion jackpot (October 2018, South Carolina) was won anonymously. South Carolina is one of a handful of states that allows winners to remain completely anonymous, so the winner's identity has never been publicly disclosed.
What Happens After You Win
Winners of jackpots in this range face two immediate choices: annuity or lump sum. The annuity pays the advertised amount over 29 years (30 payments). The lump sum — called the cash value — is typically 50–60% of the advertised jackpot. From the $2.04 billion jackpot, the lump sum was approximately $997.6 million, and Edwin Castro reportedly netted around $628 million after California's 13.3% state tax and 37% federal tax.
Financial advisors generally recommend winners retain a lottery attorney and a CPA before claiming, sign the back of the ticket, and keep possession of it until they are ready to submit the claim. Most states give winners 180 days to one year to claim a jackpot prize.
The Trend Toward Larger Jackpots
All ten jackpots on this list occurred after 2012, and eight of the ten occurred after 2018. This concentration is not random — it reflects the compounding effect of the 2015 and 2017 odds changes to Powerball and Mega Millions respectively, combined with growing national player bases and pandemic-era surges in ticket purchases.
The average jackpot-starting value for Powerball and Mega Millions has also risen over time. Powerball's current starting jackpot is $20 million; Mega Millions starts at $20 million as well. But the pace at which they climb — roughly $5–15 million per drawing depending on sales — has accelerated as lottery participation has grown. A $3 billion jackpot is plausible within the next few years if current trends continue.
Can You Actually Win?
The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338. Mega Millions is 1 in 302,575,350. To put this in perspective: if you bought one ticket for every draw for 100 years, you would have purchased roughly 31,200 tickets — still giving you about a 1 in 9,000 lifetime chance of winning the jackpot. The math is sobering, but the truth is someone always wins eventually. In every case on this list, a real person bought a real ticket and matched all the numbers.
The Bottom Line
Every jackpot on this list was won by exactly one ticket or, in the January 2016 case, three. The billion-dollar era of US lottery jackpots began the moment lottery designers made the conscious choice to prioritize jackpot size over winning frequency. That trade-off has produced some of the most remarkable prize amounts in gambling history — and it shows no sign of reversing.