6 Largest Lottery Jackpots in U.S. History

6 Largest Lottery Jackpots in U.S. History

Can you image winning a $1 million lottery jackpot? Sure, it would be nice. But compare to the biggest lottery winners in history and suddenly that $1 million seems like chump change. In fact, every year, over 1,000 people win at least $1 million playing the lottery – that's nearly 3 people every day.

It's the BIG jackpots that are really unique. Not a few million dollars … not tens of millions … no, we're talking hundreds of millions of dollars, all going to one person (or, in the case of a tie, a few lucky people).

So, how much are we talking about? Here's a list of some of the largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history.

1. $656 million, Mega Millions, March 30, 2012
The multi-state Mega Millions jackpot shattered the record books in late March 2012 with the world's largest lottery jackpot ever: $656 million. There were three winning tickets, bought in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland. This means the jackpot will be split three ways – about $157.9 million each, if each winner chooses the lump sum cash payout. Americans spent nearly $1.5 billion on Mega Millions tickets in the weeks leading up to the big win. Three separate winners matched enough numbers to become millionaires. 161 additional people also won $250,000 prizes.
2. $390 million, Mega Millions, March 6, 2007
Two winning tickets, held by Eddie Nabors of Dalton, Georgia, and Harold & Elaine Messner of Woodbine, New Jersey, had the lucky numbers. They split the prize and both chose the “cash payout” (rather than annuity), which came out to $116,557,083.

According to the Associated Press, Harold and Elaine Messner ran a general contracting business together. “This is that early retirement we’ve always dreamed of. Now we can do all those things we said we would do once we retired,” Harold said in a statement released at the time. Unlike most big jackpot winners, the Messners did not speak with reporters and did not hold a news conference.

The other winner, Eddie Nabors, had been a truck driver. According to USAToday, when Nabors first learned about his winnings, he was shaking so hard, they sent him home from work. Of course, he never returned.
3. $365 million, Powerball, February 18, 2006
This well-known jackpot was split by 8 people who all worked together at a Nebraska meat processing plant and had bought a group of tickets together. Since there was just one winning ticket, the cash payout was $177,270,519 – the largest single lottery payout to date – which they split 8 ways.

Prior to winning, everyone in the group had worked the night shift at the plant. In fact, most of them worked 60-70 hours a week, making about $9-$10 an hour.
4. $363 million, Big Game, May 9, 2000
Larry Ross, a Michigan small business owner, and Joe Kainz, the owning of a brewing company near Chicao, were the lucky winners of this jackpot in 2000. They each chose the cash payout, getting a whopping $90 million each.
5. $295 million, Powerball, July 29, 1998
13 machine shop workers in Columbus, Ohio, jointly bought this winning ticket and split the cash payout of $161 million. They called themselves the “Lucky 13.”
6. $197 million, Big Game, April 6, 1999
A 54-year-old woman named Maria Grasso won this big jackpot – the largest ever, at the time. Born in Chile, Grasso had been a nanny for a Boston family before she won.