Single ticket wins record $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot in South Carolina (2023)

FAQs

Did anyone ever claim the 1.5 billion dollar lottery? ›

$1.59 billion (Powerball)

The Robinsons' winning ticket was one of four they bought at a grocery store, they told NBC's TODAY show. They opted to take the lump sum.

If you take the lump sum option, there will be a federal tax of 24% on your winnings — about $143.2 million. You'd also owe more at tax time, another 13% or about $77.5 million, according to the USA Mega website, which would bring your total winnings to $375,958,045.

For the main balls, these five have been drawn the most: 15, 46, 20, 13, and 59 (two were in Tuesday's drawing). Among the gold Mega Balls, these numbers have been the most common: 18, 22, 6, 7, and 13.

The Powerball jackpot in November 2022 of $2.04 billion made it the largest lottery jackpot total in US history. A single-ticket holder in California won the biggest in American history after the jackpot rose to a whopping $2.04 billion.

Whether the windfall is taken as an annuity of 30 payments over 29 years or as an immediate, reduced cash lump sum, taxes end up taking a big bite out of any winnings. For this $1.28 billion jackpot, the cash option — which most winners choose — is $747.2 million.

All winnings over $5,000 are subject to tax withholding by lottery agencies at the rate of 24%. This potentially leaves a gap between the mandatory amount of withholding and the total tax you'll ultimately owe, depending on your tax bracket.

Choosing a lump-sum payout can help winners avoid long-term tax implications and also provides the opportunity to immediately invest in high-yield financial options like real estate and stocks. Electing a long-term annuity payout can have major tax benefits. Federal taxes reduce lottery winnings immediately.

Whether they win $500 million or $1 million, about 70 percent of lotto winners lose or spend all that money in five years or less.

What are the 3 luckiest numbers? ›

The top 10 are: 11, 7, 17, 27,19, 23, 12,13, 9 and 18. So how do you pick lucky numbers? For those who use birthdays, five of the most commonly drawn numbers are more than 31, meaning they are not likely to have picked them. Another approach that is commonly used is to look for numbers that have not come up in a while.

Picking your own numbers doesn't change the odds of winning. But, picking random numbers does increase the odds that if you win, no one else wins.

Richard Lustig was an American man who came to prominence for winning relatively large prizes in seven state-sponsored lottery games from 1993 to 2010.

When it comes to quick pick tickets, or the machine picking your numbers, the Multi-State Lottery Association said: “With the data available, roughly 80% of Powerball jackpot-winning tickets are quick picks. The reason the percentage is so high is because the majority of purchases are quick picks.

Not surprisingly, larger states such as California and New York have had the most Match 5 winners simply because they sell the most Mega Millions tickets, but million-dollar prizes have also been won in many jurisdictions with the smallest American lotteries, such as Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Nebraska, New ...

That's because when anyone wins the lottery, the IRS withholds 24% of the winnings off the top.

Somebody won the $1.34 billion jackpot. The Illinois Lottery said it was unable to share any information about the winners except to say that they must be absolutely "over the moon" with their Mega Millions win.

The winner would then face a mandatory 24% federal tax withholding to the IRS, reducing the prize money to $432.2 million, plus a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, which would cut it to as low as $358.3 million, if the winner has no additional income, dependents or tax deductions including charitable contributions.

Generally, if you receive $600 or more in gambling winnings, the payer is required to issue you a Form W-2G. If you have won more than $5,000, the payer may be required to withhold 28% of the proceeds for Federal income tax.

Can a casino keep your winnings if you owe taxes? ›

The casino will keep the portion that you owe to the IRS and sent it to them with a form that you receive a copy of.

Private banks are a combination of banking, investments, and other financial services specifically geared for individuals with a high net worth.

Be quiet about winning

Financial and investment advisors say that if you win, you should not announce your winnings to anyone. First, make a plan before telling friends and family.

With an annuity you can spread your taxes out over a longer period of time rather than taking a big hit by accepting the lump-sum payment. As GOBankingRates reported, a winner who takes the cash option on the current mega Millions jackpot could end up with less than $707.9 million after the IRS gets its cut.

The longer you live beyond your actuarial life expectancy, the better the annuity option generally becomes because of the guaranteed lifetime payment. If you are in poor health, you may find the lump sum more attractive.

Lotteries are regressive, meaning lower-income groups spend more of their budgets on lottery games than higher-income groups. Far more money is wagered every year on instant scratch-off games, which studies show attract more low-income gamblers, than huge jackpot drawings such as Powerball.

And other studies have found that winning the lottery generally didn't help financially distressed people escape their troubles and instead only postponed the inevitable bankruptcy. One found that one-third of lottery winners eventually go bankrupt.

Don't Make Major Changes in Your Life. If someone were to ask you what you would do once you become a Powerball winner, you might say, "quit my job" or "buy a mansion." However, experts suggest that you don't make any big moves immediately.

What state has the most lottery winners? ›

More jackpot-winning Mega Millions tickets have been sold in New York than in any other state, with 39 since 2002. Two of those — a $106 million jackpot in 2015 and a $14 million jackpot in 2012 — were won by residents of New York and New Jersey.

Seven was the most popular choice for both men and women. The survey revealed some other findings, too.

Number 40, drawn 350 times. Number 27, drawn 347 times. Number 23, drawn 346 times. Number 39, drawn 345 times.

There are 12,103,014 possible combinations of the first five numbers ranging from 1 to 70. Multiply that by the 25 options for the final ball and you get 302,575,350 possible Mega Millions tickets. At $2 for each ticket, then, it would be possible to buy every possible ticket for $605,150,700.

Combine high and low numbers.

Split the total playing range in half. Since you can only play numbers 1 through 75, this means your low half will be 1 through 38 and your high half will 39 through 75. Try to choose a relatively equal amount numbers from both halves when picking numbers for the five main balls.

So, is it better to play Quick Pick or to select your own numbers? Chances of winning the lotto between playing quick picks or selecting your own numbers are both equal.

How long does it take to get your hands on the prize after winning the jackpot? Denton: About three weeks. Once the claim is made, all of the U.S. lotteries involved with the Mega Millions game put in their share of the jackpot amount. Winners typically get the prize wired to their financial account within three weeks.

A Massachusetts man is now a six-time jackpot winner and it all happened at the same time. Raymond Roberts, of Fall River, Massachusetts, bought six tickets using the same numbers for a drawing of the “Lucky For Life” game earlier this month.

Has anyone won a lottery twice? ›

For most people, winning the lottery is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But one Delaware man was lucky enough to win the lottery twice – in just two months.

Powerball has an 1 in 292,201,338 odds for its jackpot and 1 in 11,688,054 odds for its $1 million prize. Meanwhile, Mega Millions has 1 in 302,575,350 odds for its jackpot and 1 in 12,607,306 odds for its $1 million prize. However, depending on the date, the jackpots can differ considerably.

So, when it comes to luck, there is no guarantee that you will win with quick picks. It is possible, however, for quick picks to hit the jackpot. On April 5, 2019, for instance, a $768 million Powerball jackpot was won by a player from Wisconsin who purchased a quick pick ticket.

The overall odds of winning are 1:7.8.

January 28, 2022 - $426 million ($292.9 million cash) won by Kristine Wellenstein with a ticket purchased in Woodland Hills, Calif.

After nearly 8 weeks of waiting, the winner of the third largest jackpot in lottery history has claimed their prize.

The largest lottery jackpot to date, a Powerball drawing, was won on Nov. 7, 2022. The ticket was sold at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, Calif., just north of Pasadena. Lottery officials said the ticket holder was the first lottery billionaire in the state.

2 Claim $1.3 Billion Mega Millions Jackpot Sold in Des Plaines; 3rd-Largest US Lottery Jackpot | Chicago News | WTTW.

Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.5 billion but two Californians walk away millionaires.

Did anyone come forward to claim the billion dollar lottery? ›

Somebody won the $1.34 billion jackpot. The Illinois Lottery said it was unable to share any information about the winners except to say that they must be absolutely "over the moon" with their Mega Millions win.

California has a new billionaire thanks to a $2.04 billion Powerball ticket sold at a convenience store in Altadena.

Richard Lustig was an American man who came to prominence for winning relatively large prizes in seven state-sponsored lottery games from 1993 to 2010. His prizes totaled over $1 million. He wrote Learn How To Increase Your Chances of Winning the Lottery.

CLEVELAND — Although nobody hit the gigantic $1.6 billion jackpot in the latest Powerball drawing that was held on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, the Ohio Lottery says there are still thousands of people taking home smaller amounts of prize money.

A customer walks in to the Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, Ill., where the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket was sold on July 30, 2022.

Double lottery wins like the one in Delaware are rare, but not unheard of. In 2021, the Florida Lottery reported that Susan Fitton, 64, had won $4 million from two Mega Millions tickets in the same drawing.

CHICAGO, September 21, 2022 – The wait is finally over – the unknown Illinois Lottery winner of the $1.34 billion Mega Millions jackpot has now come forward, almost eights weeks after the historic drawing. The Illinois Lottery can confirm that the prize has now been claimed.

So, is it better to play Quick Pick or to select your own numbers? Chances of winning the lotto between playing quick picks or selecting your own numbers are both equal. “Around 70 to 80 percent of Powerball players use Quick Pick tickets, and the same percentage of winning entries are Quick Picks,” one report said.

In the past, Facebook users have reported notices that indicate Powerball is giving away prize money on Facebook. These notices are false and fraudulent.