The Powerball lottery has seen some of the largest wins of all time, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars! The record jackpot of the game reached an unbelievable amount of $2.04 billion.
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Quick overview of the biggest Powerball winners
The Powerball holds the record for the biggest lottery jackpot ever awarded in the world! It reached the very amazing amount of $2.04 million on November 7, 2022 when it was scooped by a single lucky player from California: Edwin Castro.
Here are the top 5 Powerball winners from all states:
| November 7, 2022 | California | $2.04 billion |
| October 11, 2023 | California | $1.765 billion |
| January 13, 2016 | Tennessee, Florida, California | $1.586 billion |
| April 6, 2024 | Oregon | $1.326 billion |
| July 19, 2023 | California | $1.08 billion |
As you can see, New York is absent from that list, eventhough the Empire State counts a few lucky Powerball winners.
Biggest Powerball Winners – All States
For many years, numerous players have won huge jackpots worth millions of dollars and became Powerball winners. Here is a list of the luckiest of them all, the biggest Powerball winners of all time!
$2.04 billion – Nov. 7, 2022 – Edwin Castro
Edwin Castro, from California, was the only person to correctly choose all the numbers in the historic draw on November 7, 2022, netting a staggering $2.04 billion jackpot!
Mr Castro chose the cash option, which was worth $997 million! He bought his Powerball winning ticket at Joe’s Service Center on West Woodbury Road in Altadena.
So high was the demand for tickets that the draw was postponed by approximately 10 hours due to a technical issue with the sales verification system of one of the participating lotteries.
When claiming his prize in February 2023, Mr Castro declared he was both stunned and thrilled. He declined to share any more details about his big win, preferring to remain anonymous.
This is, to date, the largest lottery jackpot ever scooped by a single person, in the world!
$1.765 billion – Oct. 11, 2023
Powerball saw an other huge jackpot exceed the billion-dollar mark on October 11, 2023.
Indeed, a single ticket purchased in California brought $1.765 billion to some lucky Powerball winners. This was Powerball jackpot nr 4 that reached over $1 billion.
A man by the name Theodorus Struyck claimed the prize in the name of the group he was part of. Theo, as the winner is called by friends and family, has been described as a “just a very nice person to be around”. Everyone seems to be happy about Theo winning this amazing jackpot as he both deserved it and needed it, it seems.
The jackpot was estimated at $1.73 billion at the time of the draw, but was quickly revised to $1.765 billion due to some amazing last minute sales. Eventhough many players tried their luck, only one ticket featured all winning numbers: 22-24-40-52-64 and the Powerball 10.
Nine tickets also matched all the main numbers, but not the Power Ball which means they won the second prize. Out of these 9 tickets, two of them had selected the Power Play, which means they scooped $2 million while all the others scooped $1 million.
$1.586 billion – Jan. 13, 2016 – 3 winners
John & Lisa Robinson, David Kaltschmidt & Maureen Smith and Marvin with Mae Acosta made lottery history when they each won a pre-tax figure totaling $528.8 million. This was their share of the incredible $1.586 billion jackpot from January 13, 2016.
The Robinsons were the first to come forward, they directly went on the Today show to announce their winnings. They told the press that they wanted to keep working and keep their apartment, because as Mrs Robinson put it: “a big house is nice, but it takes a lot of cleaning work”. Nevertheless, they changed their minds after 6 months and allowed themselves a large 10-room villa with a private lake.
David Kaltschmidt and Maureen Smith from Melbourne Beach, Florida came forward next. They chose to claim their Powerball jackpot through a trust for which they chose the name of “Nickel95 Trust”.
The last Powerball winners to claim their share of this prize were Marvin et Mae Acosta ending months of curiosity regarding the third winning ticket.
$1.326 billion – April 6, 2024
The Powerball draw on April 6, 2024, had a grand prize jackpot of $1.326 billion!
The winning numbers were 22, 27, 44, 52, 69 with a Powerball of 9. These numbers were hit by a single winning ticket sold in Oregon. This Powerball winner or group of winners scooped the largest jackpot in Oregon. Before, a man from Salem could boast being the biggest winner in that state with a $340 Million jackpot won in 2005.
There were also winners in other prize categories, including Match 5 winners in Arizona (AZ), Delaware (DE), Florida (FL), Iowa (IA), Massachusetts (MA), Michigan (MI), and Wyoming (WY).
$1.08 billion – July 19, 2023
On July 19, 2023, a Californian player became one of the biggest Powerball winners by matching all the numbers drawn (07-10-11-13-24/24).
The ticket was purchased by Yanira Alvarez at the Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown LA and was worth $1.08 billion!
The jackpot had been rolling over since April 19 and had 38 draws with no winner until this lucky player hit the jackpot.
Mrs Alvarez claimed her prize nearly 8 months after the draw and chose the Cash option of $558.1 million instead of the $1.08 billion in annuity payments, over 30 years (before taxes).
$842.4 million – January 1, 2024
Powerball hit a new milestone in 2024! Someone managed to become a Powerball winner on New Year’s Day! This is the first time this has happened since the game was launched in 1992, however, it will surely happen again!
The lucky winner from Michigan scooped $842 million. His ticket was the only one featuring all winning numbers: 12-21-42-44-49/ 01. In this state, the prize can be claimed up to 1 year after winning, and anonymity is allowed.
$768.4 million – March 27, 2019 – Manuel Franco
Manuel Franco, a then 24-year-old Wisconsinite, created history when he became the biggest solo Powerball winner on March 27, 2019. That was until Edwin Castro took over.
Mr Franco purchased 10 tickets from a Speedway store in New Berlin, Milwaukee. One of these tickets brought him this amazing jackpot of $768 million.
He opted for the cash option of $477 million and planned for a break before “helping out the rest of the world”. We don’t know much about this young Powerball winner. During the press conference following his claim of the prize, he candidly admitted to shouting a good 5 to 10 minutes when he found out he was becoming the biggest single Powerball winner of all time after checking the Powerball results.
He also added that he had been playing regularly since he turned 18 and that following his big win he wouldn’t play anymore.
$758 million – August 23, 2017 – Mavis Wanczyk
Mavis Wanczyk, 53-year-old, had her lucky break after purchasing her winning ticket at a petrol station in Chicopee, Massachusetts for the drawing of August 23, 2017.
She became the owner of the highest lottery ticket win ever recorded at the time, surpassing the previous record set in 2013 (by Gloria MacKenzie).
Ms Wanczyk chose the lump sum of $480.5 million instead of the annuity of $758.7 million.
A couple of days later, she held a press conference to share her success with the world, having already quit her job as a patient care worker.
$754.6 million – February 6, 2023 – Becky Bell
The first Powerball jackpot of 2023 soared to an incredible $747 million after an 11-week roll started in 2022. It took an Evergreen State resident from Washington to match all the winning numbers and claim this Powerball prize. That lucky individual was revealed to be Becky Bell from Auburn. She chose the cash option of $407.2 million.
Becky said she bought more lottery tickets than usual. Indeed, she would usually put $20 a week on lottery tickets. But when she saw the estimated Powerball jackpot was at $747 million, she took it as a sign.
The reason: Becky had been an employee of Boeing for over 36 years. A few days prior to the Powerball reaching this record jackpot, Boeing had just sold its last 747. The jackpot was slightly higher than first estimated which means that Becky Bell scooped $754 million!
Top Powerball Winners by State
Our interactive map can show you how many Powerball jackpots have been won in each state since the launch in 1992.
As you can see, New York claimed 12 Powerball winners which amounts to around 3% of the total amount of Powerball winners since 1992.
The state with the most Powerball winners is Indiana with 39 Jackpot winners. On the other side, states such as Mississipi or Wyoming don't count any Powerball winner yet.
Top 3 Powerball Winners from New York
12 people from the Empire State have become Powerball winners. Some of these lucky winners scooped big, here is the top 3 Powerball Winners from New York:
1/2 of $687,800,000 - Robert Bailey - October 27, 2018
After 21 drawings, the draw on October 27, 2018 made two lucky Powerball winners- one from Iowa and one from New York.
They both succesfully matched all the numbers for the jackpot, setting a state record for New York with the winning ticket bought from a deli in Harlem.
Robert Bailey, the NY Powerball winner, declared that despite his newfound wealth he would continue to play the lottery.
He chose the lump sum payment of $396,173,042.06.
$298,300,000 - David Johnson - December 26, 2018
David Johnson, a 56-year-old truck driver, is the lucky winner of the second-largest Powerball jackpot in New York Lottery history.
He was the only one to guess right all winning numbers 05-25-38-52-67/ 24 on the draw of December 26, 2018.
Mr Johnson chose the lump sum payment of $180,227,550, which, after tax deductions, brought him $114,091,248.
He had purchased the winning ticket at Arnold's Service Station on Linden Boulevard, which luckily stands across the street from his workplace.
His plans included a red Porsche for himself and a new home for his family. Upon learning of his win, Johnson declared that he was quitting his job "right away!"
$245,600,000 - Nandlall Mangal - August 11, 2018
Nandlall Mangal, a Staten Island-based carpenter, has made news for winning a $245.6 million Powerball jackpot in 2018.
After his lump-sum payment of $99.32 million was received, Mangal used some of the winnings to buy a lavish Westchester home for $4 million.
Born in Guyana, Mangal had a humble lifestyle before becoming a Powerball winner. While out grocery shopping at Stop & Shop, he randomly purchased a Quick Pick ticket at the store for $6.
Upon returning to his ranch house in New Dorp, he tossed the lucky ticket to the side and didn't check it for days.
Unfortunately, his story took a dark turn after his lucky win as his lawyer apparently took advantage of Mangal's new-found wealth.
No doubt about it, 2018 was an amazing year for the Powerball players of New York; 3 players from the Empire State won really big prizes that year!
Powerball winners FAQ
New York counts 12 Powerball winners.
Currently, the state with the most Powerball winners is Indiana.
2018 was definitely the best year for Powerball players from New York.
- Nandlall Mangal won $245,600,000 in August.
- Robert Bailey got half of $687,800,000 in October.
- David Johnson scooped $298,300,000 in December.
These 3 players not only all won Powerball in 2018 but they are also the 3 biggest Powerball winners from NY.