The Mega Millions lottery often displays multi-million jackpots that make us dream instantly. Here are the biggest Mega Millions winners so far, which should give you ran idea about why it is worth playing Mega Millions.
Mega Millions Winners – Quick Overview
Here is a very quick overview of the biggest Mega Millions winners, of all time!
| August 8, 2023 | Florida | $1.602 billion |
| October 23, 2018 | South Carolina | $1.537 billion |
| January 13, 2023 | Maine | $1.348 billion |
| July 29, 2022 | Illinois | $1.337 billion |
| March 26, 2024 | New Jersey | $1.128 billion |
1. $1.602 billion on August 8, 2023
Almost 5 years after the previous $1.5 billion jackpot, Mega Millions did it again, just bigger!
Following a string of 31 rollovers, an unbelievable $1.602 billion jackpot was finally captured on August 8, by a Mega Millions ticket bought in Florida.
The lucky Mega Millions winner chose to remain anonymous and claimed his prize as an entity which he name Saltines Holdings, LLC.
He chose the lump-sum payment of $794,248,882.
2. $1.537 billion on October 23, 2018
In 2018 the US Mega Millions became the second lottery ever to surpass the $1 billion threshold.
On October 23, the first Mega Millions prize reached a whopping $1.53 billion, just shy of setting a new world jackpot record.
People from all over the world wanted a chance to win this ground-breaking prize. After one of the most intense lottery draws ever, the Mega Millions jackpot was eventually won by a single ticket, which was purchased in South Carolina.
After over four months of eager anticipation, the Mega Millions winner from South Carolina finally came forward to claim the prize and chose to stay anonymous. Luckily for him or her, South Carolina is one of the few American states where lottery winners are allowed to keep their identities private. The ticket-holder chose the cash payout for this tremendous prize, which netted $878 million, before taxes.
According to Hogan Brown, the Executive Director of the South Carolina Lottery Commission, the lucky ticket was purchased as a Quick Pick. He also said that this Mega Millions winner is still amazed by how the events of that day unfolded to lead to such a remarkable result. “The winner even allowed a fellow customer to make a Mega Millions lottery ticket purchase in front of the winner while in line at the store. A simple act of kindness led to an amazing outcome.”
3. $1.348 billion on January 13, 2023
Some would think that Friday the 13th brings bad luck but it has been a good date for at least one person: on Friday the 13th of January 2023, a player from Maine scooped an amazing Mega Millions jackpot: $1.348 Billion!
This lucky Mega Millions winner became Maine’s first ever Mega Millions jackpot winner!
He claimed his prize on February 22, 2023 after choosing to collect the cash option through a limited liability company with the name LaKoma Island Investments LLC.
He was the only player that matched all the winning numbers on that drawing, but 14 players guessed all the main numbers (without the Mega Ball number). This brought them the second-tier worth $1 Million.
4. $1.337 billion on July 29, 2022
The jackpot had been rising since mid-April; this is how it arrived to reach $1.337 Billion on July 29, 2022.
A single entry purchased in the Chicago area, in a Speedway gas station had all winning numbers: 13, 36, 45, 57, 67/ 14. This means that the winner did not have to share his prize with anyone!
After the jackpot was claimed in September of the same year, it was revealed that the winning ticket belonged to two players, who chose the Cash option of $780,5 million (before taxes).
As Illinois winners that win over $250,000 can choose to keep their identities secret, these Mega Millions winners did not have to reveal their identity.
This historical draw was a lucky one for many players: 26 players scooped the second-tier prize worth at least $1 Million.
5. $1.128 billion on March 26, 2024
On March 26, 2024, a player from New Jersey managed to win the jackpot: $1.13 billion! An amount that was reached after weeks of rollovers, since no player was able to match the draw numbers (5+1). The winning combination of the drawing was: 7-11-22-29-38 and the Mega number 4.
The winning ticket, purchased at ShopRite Liquor #781 in Neptune Township, marked the end of a jackpot run that produced over 29.9 million winning tickets nationwide. After nine months, the anonymous winner finally brought the winning ticket for this astounding jackpot before Lottery officials. They opted for the cash value of the prize, which comes to $537.5 million ($280.4 million after state and federal taxes).
It is worth mentionning that this is, to date, the biggest Mega Millions win in New Jersey!
6. $1.05 billion on January 22, 2021
A grand way to start 2021 for Mega Millions: the Mega lottery made a new winner on January 22, 2021. After 37 draws that produced no jackpot winner, a single entry from Michigan matched all winning numbers.
However, it is only after 2 months that an attorney came and claimed the amazing prize!
The ticket was purchased by a pool of 4 players who chose to remain anonymous.
We don’t know much about the lucky Mega Millions winners but they declared that they wanted to share their new found fortune with charities.
7. $656 million on March 30, 2012
This jaw-dropping jackpot created a real frenzy back in 2012. No other lottery had reached so far! Nobody had dared dream so high! Even if the record was broken a few times by now, the $656 million prize Mega Millions displayed in March 2012 remains a milestone in the history of the lottery.
What happened to this awesome prize? It was split between 3 winning tickets: one sold in Maryland and whose owners were a lottery syndicate of three members, aka “The Three Amigos”; another ticket was purchased in Illinois by a couple of retirees – Merle and Patricia Butler; and a third one was claimed in Kansas by an anonymous player.
8. $648 million on December 17, 2013
One year after setting the former world record for the highest jackpot, Mega Millions was creating again a momentum. As the holidays season was getting closer, the jackpot was getting bigger and bigger. Everyone was expecting the US lottery to break its own record, but two lucky winners stopped the rollover streak, matching the winning numbers 8, 14, 17, 20, 39 and Mega Ball 7.
Who were those lucky players? One of them is Steve Tran from California. He had purchased his Mega Millions ticket while on a family trip to San José, and forgot about it until he saw on the news that one of the big Mega Millions winners is from his city.
After checking the Mega Millions results, he smiled, hugged his wife and sent a message to his boss: “I’m really sorry, boss. I hit the jackpot. I don’t think I’m going to come in today, tomorrow — or ever.” The second ticket belonged to Ira Curry – a 56-year-old woman from Stone Mountain, Georgia. She came to claim her prize together with her extended family.
9. $543 million on July 24, 2018
2018 appears to be a very lucky year for the Mega Millions lottery. On July 24, 2018, a lucky syndicate of 11 co-workers from California scooped a huge prize worth $543 million.
The first prize was initially estimated at $522 million, but then, the amount was increased to $543 million due to the massive ticket sales. The cash payment for the 4th largest Mega Million jackpot (at the time) was set at $320.5 million.
Ronald Reyes came forward to collect the prize on behalf of the entire group. He said that they would like to continue working together even after this big win. “We want to keep our jobs. We love that company. We love what we’ve built there. We have a good time and want to stay together.” It remains to be seen how their post-jackpot life will go, but with $543 million, they are bound to do some great things.
10. $536 million on July 8, 2016
The draw of July 2016 brought yet another high jackpot. This life-changing amount was scooped by the Waters family in Indiana. They had purchased 5 tickets while driving to a sports camp with their kids. This is why everybody should play Mega Millions.
NJ Mega Millions Winners
Did anyone win the Mega Millions in New Jersey? Well, as a matter of fact, yes! There are 24 top Mega Millions winners in New Jersey! In fact, New Jersey is the 3rd luckiest state when you look at Mega Millions winners.
Biggest NJ Mega Millions Winner
The biggest Mega Millions winner from New Jersey is the lucky player who won a staggering $1.13 billion jackpot on March 26, 2024. This monumental win is the largest jackpot ever claimed in New Jersey, surpassing the previous record of $533 million won in 2018.
The winning ticket was purchased at the ShopRite Liquor on Route 66 in Neptune.
This win is not only significant for New Jersey but also ranks as the 5th-largest in Mega Millions history and the 8th-largest in United States lottery history.
Mega Millions Winners FAQ
The biggest Mega Millions winner chose to remain anonymous. He scooped $1.602 billion on August 8, 2023. He chose the lump-sum cash payment option of $794,248,882 and claimed the prize as an entity (Saltines Holdings, LLC).
The state which can boast having the most Mega Millions winners is New York, followed by California. However, New Jersey also has 24 Mega Millions jackpot winners and comes third in the list of the luckiest states!
There are 24 Mega Millions winners of the jackpot that won in New Jersey, the latest being scooped in 2024!
The biggest NJ Mega Millions winner won $1.13 billion on March 26, 2024.