The Biggest Jackpot Awarded by Every State Lottery

Lotteries rake in huge amounts of money for state and local governments, and occasionally let someone else strike it rich as well. Granted, the federal government takes 39.6 percent of your winnings, but high nine-figure paydays tend to remain nine-figure paydays. And while states take a cut, too, lottery winners in California, Florida, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming escape state taxes. We took a look and found the most lucrative lottery payouts in each state, as well as the states that haven't had any.

Jackpot: $0

Alabama is trying to implement a state lottery, but has regularly avoided one on religious grounds. That doesn't stop residents from crossing state lines to get tickets.

Jackpot: $0

Alaska doesn't have a lottery simply because of logistics. It is an enormous state with a tiny population, which makes it very difficult to sell tickets efficiently and earn enough money to make it worthwhile for the state.

Jackpot: $587.6 million

After winning half of this jackpot on Nov. 28, 2012, an Arizona man elected to get a lump-sum cash payment of $192.5 million before taxes.

Jackpot: $177 million

Just because a winning ticket is played in a state doesn't mean it pays out there. On March 31, 2017, a fellow from Lubbock, Texas, who'd bought a Mega Millions ticket in Stuttgart, Arkansas, took home the richest prize in state history.

Jackpot: $447.8 million 

This June 10, 2017, Powerball jackpot was worth $279 million as a lump-sum payout. But such big sums aren't rare for winners in California, who account for six of the top 40 jackpots of all time.

Jackpot: $90 million

Colorado's biggest jackpot may look kind of puny compared with some of the nine-figure pots on this list. But on Aug. 9, 2014, it netted a 53-year resident of Rifle a prize that was still worth $54.9 million in a lump-sum payment.

Jackpot: $245 million

On Nov. 2, 2011, a trio of wealth advisers from Greenwich took a jackpot that was worth more than their firm had in managed assets ($82 million), and many were suspicious that the true winner was hiding behind their name. So how do wealth advisers take their winnings? In a lump sum of $103.6 million placed directly into a trust.

Jackpot: $214.7 million

Delaware has had big winners more recently, but this single ticket selling from Oct. 9, 2004, gave a group of 33 printing plant workers a $214.7 million lump sum prize of $116.9 million. After federal taxes, that came to $2.7 million apiece.

Jackpot: $590.5 million

On May 18, 2013, a lone Florida woman claimed this Powerball jackpot. She took a lump-sum payment that was worth $370.9 million before taxes — made possible by the shopper who let her cut ahead in line.

Jackpot: $246.8 million

The all-cash option remains popular, as the couple who hit this Jackpot on Sept. 17, 2016, opted for a $165.6 million pre-taxes lump sum. The husband forgot to buy the ticket; good thing his wife reminded him.

Jackpot: $0

Not only does Hawaii not have a lottery, but it heavily taxes winnings from out-of-state lotteries. In that state, there are severe doubts how much revenue a lottery could produce, and about the social cost of said revenue.

Jackpot: $220.3 million

Winner Brad Duke took the $125.3 million lump-sum option when he won a Powerball drawing on May 28, 2005, but he didn't stop there, because being a multimillionaire isn't enough. He plans to turn it into $1 billion within 15 years.

Jackpot: $393 million

On Aug. 11, 2017, a Mega Millions ticket with an all-cash option of $247 million sold in Palos Heights, though the real mission that day was picking up a couple of steak sandwiches. A local retiree claimed the prize and took the lump-sum payment. While an Illinois winner got a share of a larger $656 million Mega Millions jackpot in 2012, it brought only a $157 million lump-sum share.

Jackpot: $435.3 million

Indiana allowed the winner of the Powerball drawing on Feb. 22, 2017, to remain anonymous, saying only that the man chose to take the $263.5 million lump-sum payment. To this day, the individual is known only as "Bohemian Financial LLC."

Jackpot: $241 million

A group of 20 people working together as shippers at Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids held the winning ticket for this Powerball drawing June 13, 2012. The group opted for a $160.3 million lump-sum payment, which came out to $112 million — or $5.6 million apiece — after taxes.

Jackpot: $656 million

An anonymous winner took a third of a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot worth $218.6 million on March 30, 2012, or $157 million in cash. But the more entertaining story is Kansas man Donald Damon, who won a $96.9 million Powerball prize on Nov. 11, 2009, after being forced to retire from truck driving when his family was already struggling. It added up to $33.8 million after taxes.

Jackpot: $128.6 million

On the day after Christmas in 2009, a Kentucky couple got their best present of all. As a lump-sum payment, it was worth roughly $63 million. If the clerk who printed the ticket hadn't done so by mistake, it wouldn't have won at all.

Jackpot: $191.1 million

The winning numbers were pulled Oct. 25, 2017, but it took nearly two months for someone to come forward and claim it. That person was an attorney representing the "292 Family Partnership" that chose to keep its members anonymous. The group opted for a lump-sum payment worth $119.5 million.

Jackpot: $16.4 million

Maine has never had a full jackpot winner. It's had folks win $2 million or $3 million here or there, but since joining Powerball in 2004 and Mega Millions in 2010, it's remained with North Dakota, Wyoming, Vermont, and the Virgin Islands in never hosting a winner. In fact, former Maine residents and retirees have had far better luck winning in Florida. The last big win in Maine came when half of a $16.4 million Tri-State Megabucks win went to a couple in Biddeford in 1992.

Jackpot: $656 million

Maryland has had a piece of three of the Top 35 lottery jackpots in U.S. history, but has never had one all to itself. On March 30, 2012, three Maryland public schools coworkers — mainly working multiple jobs to make ends meet — split this $656 million Mega Millions jackpot with winners from Kansas and Illinois. It netted each of those coworkers a lump sum of roughly $35 million.

Jackpot: $758.7 million

On Aug. 23, 2017, a 53-year-old hospital worker from Chicopee won the largest undivided jackpot in U.S. lottery history. This Powerball pot was paid out in a $480 million lump-sum, which amounts to $336 million after taxes.

Jackpot: $337 million

On Aug. 15, 2012, a man who walked into a gas station and picked numbers himself ended up winning a Powerball drawing that earned him a $224.6 million lump sum. He wasn't happy about it. "It's not a lot, $337 million," Donald Lawson told reporters. "You all think it's tremendous amount, but I'm kind of pissed at Uncle Sam ... you know?"

Jackpot: $228.9 million

Now, Minnesota lottery winners have been part of bigger jackpots. A winner from Minnesota won a share of a $448.4 million Powerball pot in 2013, but had to split it with two other winners from New Jersey. On Aug. 10, 2011, however, a couple from Burnsville took this prize all by themselves and was eligible for a $123.6 million lump sum larger than the $86 million share of that bigger 2013 jackpot. They bought the tickets to help out a shop where business was down because of construction.

Jackpot: $0

Go onto the floor of any casino in Biloxi and you'll see that Mississippi doesn't oppose gambling. In fact, 70 percent of Mississippi wants a lottery, but religious objections have confined gambling to certain corners of the state.

Jackpot: $587.5 million

On Nov. 28, 2012, a Missouri couple split this prize with winners from Arizona. Even the roughly $294 million half-share eclipses any Missouri lottery win that came before it. The couple opted for a lump-sum payment of $192 million before taxes. At first it wasn't clear they had a win: The buyer didn't have her glasses and wasn't sure she was seeing the numbers right.

Jackpot: $97 million

Not only does Montana not regularly strike it rich with the lottery (Powerball notes that only four winners have come from the Big Sky state), but it had to share its largest jackpot — drawn back on June 24, 2010 — with winners from Ohio. And they had to tape their tickets back together, too. They looked at the wrong numbers at first and tore them up.

Jackpot: $365 million

Eight coworkers at a ConAgra meat plant in Lincoln won the Feb. 18, 2006, Powerball drawing and elected the lump-sum cash option. The $177.3 million was whittled to $124.1 million by taxes, but still amounted to $15.5 million apiece.

Jackpot: $0

There's plenty of legal gambling in Nevada, and it doesn't want competition from a state lottery. As the casinos point out, they tend to pay property taxes and provide jobs. While the lottery's ability to do the latter is debatable, the lottery's future in Nevada isn't as long as the state continues to lean heavily on casino gaming and room-tax revenue.

Jackpot: $559 million

When a woman known only as Jane Doe won more than a half-billion dollars in a Powerball drawing Jan. 6, 2018, she took a $352 million lump-sum payment. She also went to court to retain her right to anonymity. A judge sided with her, and she's since made several anonymous donations to New Hampshire charities.

Jackpot: $533 million

Winners from New Jersey have laid claim to seven of the top 35 U.S. lottery jackpots of all time. That means one out of every five big jackpots lands in the Garden State. The biggest, however, came March 30, 2018, when a guy who'd only played the lottery twice won a Mega Millions jackpot that boiled down to a $324.6 million lump sum. After federal and state taxes, it amounted to $220.7 million.

Jackpot: $206.9 million

Stranger things have happened in Roswell, but it took a group of nine friends to give that town and New Mexico its biggest lottery win ever on Sept. 27, 2008. The group opted for the $102.9 million cash payout and more than $11 million each before taxes.

Jackpot: $326 million

On Nov. 4, 2014, a retired principal hit this Mega Millions jackpot and opted for a $197.5 million lump sum, or $130 million after taxes. He only bought the ticket because he was stuck in a store waiting out a storm.

Jackpot: $564.1 million

Granted, a winner in this state took only a third of the Powerball jackpot that was up for grabs Feb. 11, 2015, but her $188 million share would have been the largest jackpot in North Carolina history on its own. Even if taken as a lump-sum payment, that share still amounts to more than $127 million — helpful to a single mom with four children ages 9 months to 7 years.

Jackpot: $3 million

Huge lottery windfalls are still rare in this big fracking state, where Powerball has yet to record a jackpot winner — and this Mega Millions win would be a rounding error for some of that promotion's biggest prizes. Still, people have no problem leaving $400,000 in lottery winnings on the table here.

Jackpot: $270 million

In Ohio, you can claim lottery winnings anonymously if you set up a trust. In this case, a Toledo lawyer Mark Mockensturm claimed a Mega Millions jackpot from Feb. 28, 2006, as trustee for the M&H Blind Trust. His clients chose a lump-sum payment, which came out to $113.5 million after taxes.

Jackpot: $105.8 million

It's been nearly a decade since Oklahoma's seen a big Powerball win; this jackpot from June 27, 2007, remains the record. The long-haul trucker who won it was left with a $33.3 million lump-sum payment after taxes.

Jackpot: $340 million

A family in Southern Oregon pooled its resources to play $40 worth of tickets for an Oct. 19, 2005, Powerball drawing that, at the time, was the largest in history. Their gamble brought them a lump-sum payment of $164 million that works out to roughly $110 million after taxes.

Jackpot: $456.7 million

Pennsylvania considers a lottery winner's name to be public information, but it didn't count on the winner of the biggest prize in state history being savvy enough to establish a trust. The winner of the March 17, 2018, Powerball drawing, Emerald Legacy Trust, opted for a $274 million lump-sum payment worth $199.8 million.

Jackpot: $336.4 million

An 81-year-old woman laid claim to a Powerball payout worth $210 million before taxes after winning a drawing on Feb. 11, 2012. State and federal taxes reduced that sum to just over $140 million. She bought the ticket while enjoying some rainbow sherbet, and named her trust after that dessert.

Jackpot: $399.4 million

The winner of this nearly $400 million Powerball drawing on Sept. 18, 2013, discovered that South Carolina allows its lottery winners to remain anonymous when claiming their winnings. As a result, he also didn't have to reveal whether he'd take the annual payments or the roughly $223.3 million lump-sum payment.

Jackpot: $232.1 million

A 23-year-old rancher bought his tickets in a town called Winner. After taking home a lump sum of $88.5 million after taxes from a Powerball drawing May 27, 2009, he bought another ranch and laid low.

Jackpot: $420.9 million

Twenty workers at an auto parts plant in Portland had their Powerball ticket pay dividends Nov. 16, 2016. With a lump-sum cash value of $254.6 million, that's roughly $12.7 million apiece before taxes.

Jackpot: $144 million

Yes, someone from Texas won a share of a $564 million Powerball jackpot in 2015, but it was a three-way split worth $127 million apiece. The winner of this Mega Millions drawing on Jan. 29, 2010, got a bigger payout, and donated the bulk of it to charitable causes.

Jackpot: $0

Along with Hawaii, Utah prohibits all forms of gambling. But though the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints prohibits gambling, many folks in Utah who are otherwise affiliated jaunt to Wyoming or Idaho to buy tickets.

Jackpot: $16.4 million

There's been no significant winner from Vermont for Mega Millions or Powerball. Despite running a lottery subscription service that occasionally rewards players with upward of $5 million in a lottery it shares with Maine and New Hampshire, the biggest win in Vermont history still dates back to 1992.

Jackpot: $239 million

Way back on Feb. 20, 2004, J.R. and Peggy Triplett of Winchester won this Mega Millions drawing and opted for the cash option of $141.5 million, with the husband calling it "no big thing" and the wife saying she'd "shop till I drop." There's been only one bigger jackpot in Virginia since, but that $330 million Mega Millions win in 2007 was split among players in four states and gave Virginia winners only about $82.5 million for their trouble.

Jackpot: $380 million

A couple with 23 grandkids had to split this jackpot with other winners from Idaho after their numbers were pulled Jan. 4, 2011. But even the $190 million that makes up their half of the winnings is still the biggest payout in state history.

Jackpot: $314.9 million

We'd like to tell you that Dec. 25, 2002, was a great one for Jack Whittaker. His share of this $170.5 million Powerball win was roughly $113.4 million after taxes. But the less said about the sometimes fatal misfortunes that followed Whittaker and his family after that win, the better. The fire that destroyed his uninsured home wasn't even the worst of it.

Jackpot: $208.6 million

There was only one winning ticket for the Aug. 5, 2006, Powerball drawing, but 100 cheese factory workers owned it. Those who opted for a lump-sum payment got between $660,000 and $670,000 apiece after taxes. If they took the annual payment, they got between $37,000 and $110,000 a year.

Jackpot: $1.8 million

Wyoming has fewer residents than some large U.S. cities, so it isn't surprising that it hasn't produced a Mega Millions or Powerball winner yet. Its local Cowboy Draw gave away its biggest prize back in February 2016, though, and continues to give away prizes in the low seven figures.