Questions like "did anyone actually win?" spike every time a long jackpot run ends. This page answers the most common ones for the biggest Powerball and Mega Millions prizes, using the official draw results and jackpot histories. Where the winner's identity is public we say so; in many states it isn't.
Did someone really win the $1.8 billion Powerball?
Yes, and there were two different Powerball jackpots near that size in 2025, which is why the question gets confusing.
The bigger one was the $1.817 billion jackpot drawn on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2025. One ticket, sold at a Murphy USA station in Cabot, Arkansas, matched 4, 25, 31, 52, 59 and Powerball 19. Powerball's draw page lists the cash value at $834.9 million, and the winner took the cash option when the prize was claimed at Arkansas Scholarship Lottery headquarters on January 22, 2026. It is the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history.
Three and a half months earlier, the $1.787 billion jackpot drawn September 6, 2025 was split between two tickets, one sold in Missouri and one in Texas. The winning numbers were 11, 23, 44, 61, 62 and Powerball 17. The total cash value was $820.6 million, so each ticket's share of the lump sum was about $410.3 million before taxes.
Did anyone win a billion-dollar jackpot in 2026?
Yes. A single ticket sold in Illinois won the Powerball jackpot drawn Wednesday, August 12, 2026. Powerball lists that jackpot at $1.04 billion with a cash value of $450.5 million; the numbers were 4, 26, 66, 67, 69 and Powerball 9. The run that ended that night had started in early May, and you can follow every step of it on the Powerball jackpot history page.
Mega Millions has not reached a billion in 2026. Its largest win of the year is the $803 million jackpot drawn July 28, 2026, won on a Quick Pick ticket sold at a Wawa in Bradenton, Florida (cash value $345.5 million in the official jackpot history). Earlier, on March 10, an Illinois player who bought her ticket through the state's online iLottery site won $536 million. The game's last jackpot above that was the $983 million prize won in Georgia on November 14, 2025.
What happened to the man who won $2 billion?
Edwin Castro's ticket for the November 7, 2022 Powerball drawing was bought at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, California. The jackpot was $2.04 billion, still the largest lottery prize in the world, and Castro took the lump sum of about $997.6 million before taxes.
Two things kept him in the news afterward. In 2023 a man named Jose Rivera sued, claiming the ticket had been stolen from him before it reached Castro. Castro denied it, and a Los Angeles County judge dismissed the case in 2024, writing that the person holding a winning ticket is its presumptive owner. Castro also bought several houses, starting with a $25.5 million home in the Hollywood Hills in 2023. In January 2025 a Malibu home he owned was destroyed in the Palisades fire.
Stories like his are part of why people ask what happens to winners years later. We look at the research on that question in what happens to lottery winners five years later.
Who won Florida's record $1.6 billion Mega Millions?
The Mega Millions jackpot drawn August 8, 2023 was advertised at $1.58 billion on draw night and finalized at $1.602 billion, the largest in the game's history. The winning ticket was sold at a Publix in Neptune Beach, Florida.
No individual's name was announced. The prize was claimed by a company, Saltines Holdings LLC, which took the lump sum of $794.2 million. Claiming through an entity is one way winners limit publicity. Florida law (section 24.1051) keeps the name of a winner of $250,000 or more confidential for only 90 days after the claim, so a company name on the public record is a practical workaround. Our state-by-state anonymity guide covers the rules elsewhere.
The other billion-dollar jackpots
Here are the remaining billion-dollar wins in both games since 2018, with final annuity amounts and cash values from the official Mega Millions jackpot history and Powerball draw results.
| Jackpot | Game | Draw date | Where the ticket was sold | Cash value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1.765 billion | Powerball | Oct 11, 2023 | California | $774.1 million |
| $1.537 billion | Mega Millions | Oct 23, 2018 | South Carolina | not listed |
| $1.348 billion | Mega Millions | Jan 13, 2023 | Maine | $723.5 million |
| $1.337 billion | Mega Millions | Jul 29, 2022 | Illinois | $780.5 million |
| $1.269 billion | Mega Millions | Dec 27, 2024 | California | $571.9 million |
| $1.128 billion | Mega Millions | Mar 26, 2024 | New Jersey | $536.6 million |
| $1.050 billion | Mega Millions | Jan 22, 2021 | Michigan | $776.6 million |
| $1.04 billion | Powerball | Aug 12, 2026 | Illinois | $450.5 million |
The South Carolina winner of the 2018 Mega Millions jackpot stayed anonymous, which that state allows. The 2024 California Mega Millions ticket was sold in Cottonwood and was advertised at $1.22 billion on draw night before final sales pushed it to $1.269 billion. Earlier billion-dollar Powerball jackpots, including the $1.586 billion split three ways in January 2016, appear in the full Powerball and Mega Millions histories.
Why do some big winners take weeks to come forward?
Usually the ticket hasn't been lost. Winners of large prizes often spend a few weeks lining up a lawyer and a financial adviser before they claim, and the Arkansas Christmas Eve winner took four weeks. Claim deadlines vary by state, from 90 days to a year for most jackpot games, and some states set a shorter deadline for choosing the cash option than for claiming at all. If a prize does go unclaimed, the money is handled under that state's rules, often returned to future prize pools or sent to the programs the lottery funds.
Our step-by-step claim guide explains the deadlines, and unclaimed jackpots covers the rare cases where nobody comes forward.
How can you tell whether anyone won a specific drawing?
Go to the result for that date. Our Powerball and Mega Millions pages show recent winning numbers and jackpot amounts, and the past-results search finds older draws. If the next drawing's jackpot drops back to the starting amount, someone won the top prize. The lotteries' own draw pages also list the states where jackpot-winning tickets were sold.
Frequently asked questions
Did anyone win the $1.8 billion Powerball?
Yes. A single ticket sold in Cabot, Arkansas won the $1.817 billion Powerball drawn December 24, 2025, and the winner took the $834.9 million cash option. A separate $1.787 billion Powerball drawn September 6, 2025 was split by tickets sold in Missouri and Texas.
What happened to the man who won the $2 billion Powerball?
Edwin Castro took a lump sum of about $997.6 million from the $2.04 billion jackpot drawn November 7, 2022. A lawsuit claiming the ticket was stolen was dismissed by a Los Angeles County judge in 2024, and he has bought several homes in the Los Angeles area.
Who won the biggest Florida lottery jackpot?
The $1.602 billion Mega Millions jackpot drawn August 8, 2023 was won on a ticket sold at a Publix in Neptune Beach. It was claimed by a company called Saltines Holdings LLC, which took the $794.2 million lump sum.
Did anyone win a billion-dollar jackpot in 2026?
Yes. A ticket sold in Illinois won the $1.04 billion Powerball drawn August 12, 2026, with a cash value of $450.5 million. The largest Mega Millions win of 2026 so far is $803 million, won in Bradenton, Florida on July 28.
What is the biggest lottery jackpot ever won?
The $2.04 billion Powerball drawn November 7, 2022, won on a single ticket sold in Altadena, California. It remains the largest lottery jackpot in the world.
The odds of winning either jackpot are about 1 in 292.2 million for Powerball and 1 in 290.5 million for Mega Millions. If gambling stops being fun, the national problem gambling helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET.
Sources: Powerball.com draw results for Oct 11, 2023, Sept 6, 2025, Dec 24, 2025 and Aug 12, 2026; the Mega Millions jackpot history at megamillions.com; Florida Statutes section 24.1051.
