The Biggest Powerball Jackpots of All Time

• WHAT IS POWERBALL?
• POWERBALL RECORD JACKPOT WINNERS
• $2.04 BILLION
• $1.586 BILLION
• $1.08 BILLION
• $768.4 MILLION
• $758.7 MILLION
• HOW TO BET ON POWERBALL FROM IRELAND
• HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BET ON POWERBALL FROM IRELAND?
• I WON A POWERBALL PRIZE - WHAT NOW?
• BECOME THE NEXT POWERBALL WINNER

WHAT IS POWERBALL?

Powerball is an American lottery which was formed in April 1992, replacing the original Lotto America which ran from 1988 – 1992. Powerball is available in 46 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Draws take place on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10.59 Eastern Time (02.59 GMT / 03.59 BST). This means that in Ireland, the draws take place at 4 am on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Powerball is operated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL).

The current Powerball jackpot is an estimated *€736 million and can reach up into the billions! Unlike the major European lottos, Powerball has no jackpot cap and keeps rolling until the jackpot is won, this leads to such huge jackpots.

*Tier 1 winning bets on PowerBall are paid out as a 30-year annuity or discounted lump sum at Lottoland’s election, and Tiers 1 – 3 are also subject to a 38% reduction as per T&C's. Forbes has written an article which explains how a billion-dollar win would be taxed.

POWERBALL RECORD JACKPOT WINNERS

Only 11 states in the US allow lottery winners to remain anonymous, these states are: Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia and Texas.

As the majority of states require the winner to reveal their identities, we are able to find out a bit about their stories, which sometimes can be quite interesting. Here are the biggest Powerball jackpot winners.

*Shared between three tickets.

#1) $2.04 billion (€1.975 billion)  – Nov. 7, 2022 - California

The single-ticket winner of the world's largest lottery jackpot has been identified as an anonymous individual. The lucky person won an astonishing $2.04 billion on November 7, 2022, after betting on the winning numbers 10, 33, 41, 47, & 56 and the Powerball 10.

They bought the winning ticket at Joe’s Service Center in California and Powerball have gifted a 1 million dollar reward directly back into this small business owner's account after selling the single winning ticket. 

#2) $1.586 billion (€1.6 billion)  – Jan. 13, 2016 - Florida, Tennessee and California

On January 13, 2016, the Powerball jackpot of $1.586 billion was won. The lucky numbers were 4,8,18,27 and 34 with the Powerball 10. The prize money was split between three tickets, won in three different states. The three winning couples opted for the lump sum of $328 million.

David Kaltschmidt and Maureen Smith - Florida

Originally from Long Island, New York but residing in Melbourne Beach, Florida, David lost 10 lbs from stress before the couple even collected their prize. David purchased an SUV and Maureen a gold Tesla but the couple decided to remain in their $300,000 home located in a prime real estate location by the sea, which included a dock for David’s 15 ft fishing boat. As the couple were already relatively well-off and enjoying their life in Florida, not a great deal changed in terms of their lifestyle with neighbours claiming, ‘they were nice, humble people before and they are exactly the same now’.

John and Lisa Robinson – Tennessee

The Robinsons initially claimed they would be staying in the modest home in Munford, John stated “we’re just like y’all. These big fancy houses are nice, but you gotta clean ‘em”. However, six months later, the Robinson family was living in a $6.2 million, 10-bedroom mansion on 320 acres (129 hectares) of land including a private lake.

You can’t really blame them after winning $328 million, they would still have had plenty left over to live out the rest of their days. They were living a modest, small-town, middle-class life prior to their win, unlike David and Maureen who were already living it up in Florida.

Marvin and Mae Acosta – California

This couple from Chino Hills was in no rush to go on a spending spree as they took 6 months to claim their prize, reportedly ‘laying low on purpose’. According to California Lottery Director Hugo Lopez, the couple had read their ‘Winner’s Handbook’ and assembled a team of legal and financial advisors.

This was later confirmed by the couple who said that would commit ‘nearly all of this new resource to a Trust and to charities that are important (to them)’. This win was also great news for Balbir Atwal, owner of the 7-Eleven which sold the ticket, who received a mega bonus of $1 million for selling the ticket.

#3) $1.08 billion (€974.8 million) – Jul. 19, 2023 - Anonymous -California

This extraordinary event which took place on July 19, 2023, has turned into a historic jackpot streak, making it only the third time in Powerball's 31-year history that the prize has reached an astonishing billion-dollar mark.

The winning numbers for the night's draw were 7, 10, 11, 13, and 24, with the Powerball number being 24. Surprisingly, the ticket that secured this massive jackpot was sold at the Las Palmitas Mini Market in Los Angeles. However, the lucky winner's identity remains a mystery, as it's still unknown whether they are a local resident, part of a group purchase, or simply a passerby who took a chance.

#4) $768.4 million (€777 million) – Mar. 27, 2019 - Manuel Franco, Wisconsin

The jackpot was won by a single ticket purchased at a Speedway in New Berlin, near Milwaukee. The owner of the ticket was a young man by the name of Manuel Franco, who opted to be paid the lump sum of $477 million, taking home $326 million after tax. Just 24 years old at the time of his win, Manuel said he was unsure what his future holds but he wanted to “help out the world”, but first he wanted to “take a break” in order not to make any bad decisions, vowing to be responsible and “do it right”, making sure his future is secure.

Manuel said he “felt lucky” and purchased $10 worth of individual Powerball tickets. After buying his tickets, he looked into the shop’s camera and contemplated winking at it as he had a “lucky feeling”. Manuel claims to have been playing Powerball since he was 18, purchasing his first ticket on his 18^th birthday.

#5) $758.7 million (€767 million) – Aug. 23 – 2017, Mavis L. Wanczyk – Massachusetts

Even if you are required to reveal your identity, it is advisable to take your time to come forward and wait for the hype to die down, this also gives you time to seek legal advice and think about how to properly invest your winnings. Although, this is of course easier said than done. Could you imagine how difficult it would be to know that you have all that money waiting for you?

Mavis Wanczyk from Chicopee, Massachusetts, could not wait at all! The first thing she did was call up the medical centre which had been her workplace for 32 years and told them she would not be coming back. Within 24 hours of her win, Mavis was already speaking to the press. She took home the lump sum which came to approximately $336 million after tax.

HOW TO BET ON POWERBALL FROM IRELAND

You can only buy tickets for Powerball in the United States but fortunately, you don’t need to cross the Atlantic as you can bet on PowerBall from Ireland with Lottoland. Just create an account, pick your numbers and wish for the best. All from the comfort of your own home!

To win the jackpot, you need to match 5 numbers from 1 to 69 plus a Powerball from 1 to 26. The odds of winning Powerball are 1 in 292,201,338.

PowerPlay is an additional feature which enables you to win more money on lower tier prizes. If you win a prize on tier 2 with the PowerPlay option, your winnings are doubled! Any other non-jackpot prizes will be doubled either x2, x3 or x5 depending on the PowerPlay ball that is drawn. If the jackpot is below $150 million, an additional x10 PowerPlay ball is added. 

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BET ON POWERBALL FROM IRELAND?

A single bet costs €3.50. 

However, during high jackpot periods, Lottoland reserves the right to increase the line of a single bet.

I WON A POWERBALL PRIZE – WHAT NOW?

All of our Irish customers are automatically verified, for large sums such as Powerball jackpots, an additional document scan may potentially be requested to ensure the money goes to the right person. For smaller prizes, they will be automatically credited and your money will arrive in your bank account within a few business days. Of course, if you're lucky enough to hit the Powerball jackpot, we'll contact you by phone to share the good news!

Lottoland guarantees a pay-out of all winnings with its unique insurance model, even the highest Powerball jackpots. However, Lottoland replicates the pay-out structure of the official draws in the US and for this reason, the total prize is reduced by 38% to make allowances for the tax that the official winners in tiers 1 to 3 would have to pay. Payment can be received as instalments over 30 years or as a lump sum paid out at 60% of the total value of the annuity amount.

BECOME THE NEXT POWERBALL WINNER

Now that you're a professional on how to bet on the PowerBall from Ireland - why not bet with Lottoland? Simply sit back and relax and bet on one of the biggest American lotteries from the comfort of your house in Ireland with a touch of a button on your mobile/laptop! 

So, good luck and who knows, we may be including you in the next list of top Powerball winners... 

Updated: 31st July 2023