The Biggest Powerball Jackpots in History

In California, a man named Edwin Castro bought a lottery ticket for a small amount of money at a gas station counter and left with the ticket that would go down in history as having the biggest powerball jackpots prize of all time. He likely did not think too much of it because nobody does. On November 7, 2022, Edwin Castro hit all six Powerball numbers and won himself $2.04 billion. That amount does not make sense to see written out like that, but it’s true. This is now considered the biggest lottery jackpot of all time. Powerball has been making people millionaires forever, but recently it started awarding some really huge sums of money to its winners. These amounts of money are just mind-blowing. This is a brief overview of how the tickets were won, where, by whom, and why.

How Does a Jackpot Get That Large?

This is a simple principle – rollovers. Each time there is no winner, the prize money is rolled over into the following drawing, and the more drawings, the larger the sum becomes. The number of people who purchase the lottery ticket increases along with the size of the jackpot, with some of the money from each purchase going towards the jackpot itself.   Another factor that changed after Powerball altered the odds in 2015 and made the jackpot even more difficult to win by raising the chances of winning from 1 in 175 million to 1 in 292.2 million. This means that there are more winners in fewer periods, which means larger jackpots, and explains the emergence of billion-dollar prizes.  

The 10 Biggest Powerball Jackpots Ever

All figures below are Powerball jackpots only. Mega Millions has its own record-breaking list.

Also Read: 10 Most Frequently Drawn Powerball Numbers

The Stories Behind the Numbers

1) $2.04 Billion — Edwin Castro, California (November 2022)

Castro purchased his ticket at Joe’s Service Station in Altadena, located just northeast of Los Angeles. The lucky numbers for Castro appeared in draw number 40, breaking the drought of many draws without a winner. He went for the cash option worth $997.6 million minus taxes, which is $628.5 million. There is no state lottery tax in California, making things easier for him.

2) $1.817 Billion — Anonymous, Arkansas (December 2025)

This one occurred on Christmas Eve, and what a strange holiday it was. This particular ticket was purchased at a Murphy USA gas station in Cabot, a small city located outside of Little Rock. It required 47 consecutive rollovers to reach this point, making this the longest Powerball jackpot ever. The identity of the person who won this was never revealed, and that is allowed by Arkansas law.

3) $1.787 Billion — Two Winners, Missouri & Texas (September 2025)

The draw resulted in two separate winning tickets being sold in two different states, which correctly matched all six numbers. Each ticket holder won an amount equal to approximately $410 million in cash value prior to any taxes. This was second only to one other drawing at the time; that changed three months later due to an Arkansas lottery win.

4) $1.765 Billion — Theodorus Struyck, California (October 2023)

The lucky ticket was bought at the Midway Market & Liquor store in Frazier Park, an unknown little mountain town situated south of Bakersfield. Theodorus Struyck was speaking on behalf of the winners who had bought the lottery ticket collectively. For 35 draws, there were no winners, and the jackpot continued to grow for months before somebody eventually won it.

5) $1.586 Billion — Three Winners, Three States (January 2016)

This is what winning a huge lottery jackpot entailed for quite a while. Three tickets won the jackpot: one purchased in California, another in Florida, and the third in Tennessee. It was an unusual situation when the John and Lisa Robinsons from Tennessee’s Munford decided to appear on the Today Show even before collecting their money. Maureen Smith, the Florida winner, quietly took her lump sum and went home. The California winners waited six months to come forward.

6) $1.326 Billion — Abbas Shafii, Oregon (April 2024)

Shafii, a 79-year-old from Beaverton, was named publicly because Oregon’s anonymity law hadn’t yet passed when he won. He later said he planned to travel, invest, and give to causes he cared about. The ticket was sold at a convenience store in Oregon. Just eight months after Shafii’s win, the state passed a law protecting lottery winners’ identities — too late for him.

7) $1.08 Billion — Yanira Alvarez, California (July 2023)

Alvarez bought her ticket at Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles. She chose the lump sum of $558.1 million, taking home just over $351.6 million after federal taxes.

8) $842.4 Million — The Breakfast Club, Michigan (January 2024)

A group of friends who called themselves ‘The Breakfast Club’ won on New Year’s Day — the first time in Powerball history that a jackpot was claimed on January 1. The ticket was purchased at Food Castle in Grand Blanc, Michigan. The group said they only played when jackpots climbed to extraordinary levels.

9) $768.4 Million — Wisconsin (March 2019)

A single ticket sold in Wisconsin. The winner described himself as ‘just an ordinary guy’ who couldn’t quite believe a $2 ticket had done this. He said he didn’t plan to play again — though he left that door open.

10) $758.7 Million — Massachusetts (August 2017)

One ticket, one winner, sold in Massachusetts. At the time it was the third-largest Powerball jackpot ever. Seven years later it sits at number ten, which tells you something about how quickly the record books have been rewritten.

Also Read: Mega Millions vs Powerball

A Few Things Worth Knowing

Lump sum vs. annuity

Every jackpot winner gets a choice. The annuity pays out the full advertised amount over 30 years, with each payment increasing by 5% annually. The lump sum gives you roughly 50–60% of that figure all at once. Most winners take the lump sum — and then federal taxes take another 37% of that. By the time it’s over, a winner of a $1 billion jackpot might actually net somewhere around $300–350 million. Still life-changing. Just not quite the headline number.

The states with the most wins

California shows up more than anywhere else on the Powerball leaderboard, largely because it has the biggest population and sells the most tickets. When you combine both Powerball and Mega Millions wins, New York actually leads the all-time count with 54 jackpot wins. California is second with 50. The biggest single prizes, though, have an obvious California lean.

Unclaimed tickets

It happens more than you’d expect. The record for an expired unclaimed prize in the U.S. is $77 million — a Powerball ticket sold in Georgia in 2011 that nobody ever came forward to claim. The ticket expired worthless.

The odds

1 in 292.2 million. That’s the probability of matching all six numbers on a single ticket. To put it differently: if you bought one ticket per drawing, you’d statistically expect to wait around 5.6 million years before winning. And yet, every few months, someone does.

Also Read: Odds of Winning Powerball: A Complete Breakdown

What Comes Next?

The $2.04 billion record has stood since 2022. Given the trajectory of recent jackpots — two separate prizes above $1.7 billion in 2025 alone — it’s not unreasonable to think it could fall within the next few years. Rollover streaks have been getting longer, jackpots have been climbing faster, and the public appetite for big draws only grows with the prize. Someone reading this will eventually buy a ticket on the right night. Statistically, it almost certainly won’t be you. But it won’t be almost everyone else either, and one of those people will be wrong. That’s the thing about Powerball. The math is brutal, but the possibility is real. Someone always wins eventually.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Biggest Powerball Jackpots

What is the biggest Powerball jackpot ever won?

The biggest Powerball jackpot ever won was $2.04 billion, claimed on November 7, 2022. Edwin Castro was the sole winner, with the lucky ticket purchased at Joe’s Service Center, a Mobil gas station in Altadena, California. Jackpocket Castro opted for the lump-sum cash payout rather than the annuity option. CNBC This win is not just the largest Powerball jackpot in history — it also holds the record as the largest lottery jackpot ever awarded anywhere in the world.  

What is the largest Powerball jackpot in history?

 The largest Powerball jackpot in history is the $2.04 billion prize won in November 2022 — but several other jaw-dropping jackpots follow closely behind. The record U.S. Powerball jackpots include $1.817 billion won in Arkansas in December 2025, $1.787 billion split between Missouri and Texas in September 2025, $1.765 billion won in California in October 2023, and $1.586 billion split across California, Florida, and Tennessee in January 2016.  

Has anyone ever won the $2 billion Powerball? 

Yes — one person has ever won a $2 billion Powerball jackpot, and it happened just once in the game’s history. Edwin Castro won the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot on November 7, 2022, making it a world record. A 31-year-old Altadena, CA resident, Castro chose the lump sum of $997.6 million for his payout and commented that California Public Schools would be “the real winner.”  

What state has won the most Powerball jackpots? 

Indiana has won the most Powerball jackpots, with 39 wins since 1992 — representing nearly 10% of all grand prizes ever awarded. Indiana’s success is attributed to its early participation in Powerball since 1992, high ticket sales volume per capita, and a strong lottery-playing culture. 

What happens if no one wins the largest Powerball ever?

When there is no jackpot winner in a Powerball drawing, all of the jackpot prize money rolls over and is added to the jackpot for the next drawing. Maryland Lottery This is exactly how record-breaking jackpots are built — each missed drawing pushes the prize higher.