Mega Millions Winners
Mega Millions frequently produces jackpots worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and in October 2018 it broke through the $1 billion barrier for the first time on its way to setting a new record. Learn all about the biggest prizes ever to have been won on the game and the players who have been lucky enough to land these incredible sums of money.
You can also visit the Participating States page to see how many winners have come from each state or jurisdiction that offers Mega Millions.
Top 10 Mega Millions Jackpots
Mega Millions has created some of the biggest jackpots in history since the game was launched in 1996. Here is a list of the top 10 payouts:
1) $1.602 billion - August 8th 2023
After 31 consecutive draws without any winner, the largest Mega Millions jackpot worth $1.602 billion was won in August 2023. The ticket was sold in Florida at a Publix in Neptune Beach in Florida. The lucky winner claimed the grand prize approximately one month after the draw date. Whilst their name remained anonymous for 90 days, the Florida Lottery then had to reveal their identity according to lottery rules. On December 27th, 2023 the Florida Lottery published a press release advising that the grand prize was claimed by Saltines Holdings, LLC at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. The winner went for the cash option worth $794.2 million.
2) $1.53 billion - October 23rd 2018
An unprecedented amount of ticket sales and 25 consecutive draws without a winner pushed the jackpot to a record $1.53 billion in October 2018, before one player from South Carolina pocketed the lot. They became the state’s first Mega Millions jackpot winner and could choose between the full jackpot amount as an annuity of a cash value of around $878 million. At the time, it was also the biggest win on a single ticket for any lottery in the world.
3) $1.35 billion – January 13th 2023
After climbing beyond $1 billion for the fourth time in its history, the Mega Millions jackpot stood at $1.35 billion for the draw on Friday the 13th in January 2023. It turned out to be a very lucky day for the single jackpot winner from Maine, who had purchased their ticket from Hometown Gas & Grill in the town of Lebanon. The cash option for the jackpot was $724.6 million. The jackpot was claimed by LaKoma Island Investments LLC, with the winner opting for the lump sum payment rather than the annuity.
4) $1.33 billion – July 29th 2022
This gigantic jackpot went to a single ticket holder from Illinois, who had purchased their entry at a Speedway gas station in Des Plaines. The big payout came after more than three months without a winner. The grand prize had built steadily throughout its run, before exploding at the end as it approached and then exceeded $1 billion. The winners were revealed to be a couple of players who had bought their ticket together. They stayed anonymous and took the cash option of $780.5 million.
5) $1.13 billion – March 26th 2024
Millions of players across the U.S. rushed to buy tickets for this draw after the jackpot went past $1 billion once again, and one lucky player from New Jersey was rewarded with a record-breaking payout – the largest ever seen in the Garden State. The winner has one year to come forward, and will be allowed to stay anonymous if they wish.
6) $1.05 billion – January 22nd 2021
The jackpot rolled over 36 times in a row from September 2020, until one lucky ticket matched all the numbers to grab over $1 billion and make it the biggest win ever seen in Michigan. The prize was eventually claimed by the Wolverine FFL Club, a group of four people from Oakland County. They purchased the entry at a Kroger store in the Detroit suburb of Novi and chose the cash option of $776 million.
7) $800 million - September 10th 2024
It took 27 draws in a row without a winner to create this colossal jackpot, then a player from Texas grabbed the lot with a ticket bought at the Murphy’s Express gas station on Highway 90A in Sugar Land. It was the biggest prize ever won in Texas and left the winner with a decision over whether to take the annuity or the cash option of $409.2 million. The lucky ticket holder went for the lump sum, while the retailer also received a $1 million selling bonus.
8) $656 million - March 30th 2012
A run of 18 rollovers pushed the jackpot up to a new record in March 2012, before three winning tickets split the money to pocket $218 million each before taxes. A small group of work colleagues from Milford Mill in Maryland, known as ‘The Three Amigos’, claimed one share of the prize. A player from Ottawa became Kansas’ first Mega Millions jackpot winner, and opted to stay anonymous. The final third of the jackpot went to Merle and Patricia Butler of Red Bull in Illinois, who said they ‘giggled for hours’ when they found out.
9) $648 million - December 17th 2013
Two lucky players matched the full winning line in this draw to pick up $324 million each. Delivery driver Steve Tran from California woke up at 3am one morning with a sudden urge to check his tickets and quickly found out that he was a winner, allowing him to immediately call his boss and say he wouldn’t be in ‘today, tomorrow or ever’. The second winning entry belonged to Ira Curry of Stone Mountain in Georgia, who revealed that she had used family birthdays when selecting her numbers.
10) $552 million - June 4th 2024
After the jackpot surged into the top ten in the spring of 2024, one lucky player from Illinois became the Prairie State’s 15th grand prize winner. The ticket was actually purchased online, so the player was automatically notified afterwards without even having to worry about checking the numbers. They completed the claims process just a few days later, and described it as an ‘unreal’ moment after a lifetime of hard work. The winner decided to stay anonymous and was only known as MEGA Millionaire.