Powerball - Largest Payoffs

Largest Payoffs

The largest jackpot (annuity and cash values) in Powerball history was the drawing held November 28, 2012; the annuity is $579.9 million, with a $360.2 million cash option. (Only the $656 million annuity value/$474 million cash value for the Mega Millions drawing on March 30, 2012 was larger in American history. Two winning tickets, sold in Arizona and Missouri, shared the jackpot for matching the 5+1.

The largest ever PowerBall prize is the $223.7 millon cash ($337 million annuity) for the Powerball drawing on August 15, 2012. The winning ticket sold in Michigan is the most valuable ticket sold in Powerball and US lottery history to date.

A jackpot of $365 million was won on February 18, 2006, by one ticket in Nebraska. It was shared by eight people who worked at a Conagra meatpacking plant. They chose the cash option, sharing $177,270,519.67 (before taxes).

On October 19, 2005, the West family of Jacksonville, Oregon won a $340 million jackpot. However, their cash value was actually smaller than that of the $314.9 million annuity value jackpot from December 25, 2002. The Wests' cash "only" $164,410,058.03. The family won shortly after a rule change took effect which was created to generate larger annuity values. If the rule was in effect for the December 2002 jackpot, the annuity value would have been $352.6 million.

On August 25, 2007, a jackpot worth $314.3 million was won by a retired auto worker from Ohio; that ticket was bought in Richmond, Indiana, a community that already had sold a jackpot-winning ticket of at least $200 million.

In November 2011, three Greenwich, Connecticut financial executives shared $254.2 million (annuity value), the largest prize on a Connecticut-bought ticket. Choosing the cash option, the men split nearly $104 million after withholdings. The jackpot, at the time, was the 12th largest in Powerball history.

Indiana and Pennsylvania have produced the most Powerball jackpot winners.