Powerball hits $1 billion, again. See list of biggest jackpots in history - Cincinnati Enquirer

The Powerball jackpot has hit 1 billion again. It's the second time this year the jackpot has hit the billion-dollar threshold. Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots have now reached 1 billion 14 times in history. The most recent win came on Sept. 6 2025 with a 1.787 billion Powerball jackpot. Compared to previous years its an interesting phenomenon as 2023 saw four billion-dollar lottery jackpots and there were three billion-dollar totals in 2024. The previous billion-dollar lottery jackpot occurred during the 2024 holiday season. After three months of Mega Millions rollovers from Sept. 13 2024 a Friday the 13th to Dec. 24 2024 or Christmas Eve the grand prize went from 20 million to a whopping 970 million. A Christmas Eve rollover led to the 1.22 billion Mega Millions drawing for Dec. 27 2024. California resident Rosemary Casarotti collected the grand prize according to California Lottery officials. Who won the largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history? Who have been Ohio's biggest winners? Here are some things to know about Powerball winners Mega Millions winners those (other) billion-dollar drawings and a list from lowest total to highest. The Dec. 13 2025 Powerball drawing is the 14th billion-dollar multi-state lottery jackpot ever. Powerball made history on Jan. 11 2016 the first time a lottery jackpot hit 1 billion. When no one matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in the (Saturday) Jan. 9 2016 drawing for 949 million the Monday jackpot soared to 1.4 billion. (No one won that drawing either.) Powerball made history again when three tickets matched all six numbers to win 1.586 billion in the (Wednesday) Jan. 13 2016 drawing. The jackpot started Nov. 4 2015 at 40 million. It had rolled over almost 30 times from Nov. 4 2015 to Jan. 13 2016 before three tickets from California Tennessee and Florida claimed the grand prize. But that wasn't the largest jackpot ever and the Sept. 6 2025 Powerball jackpot of 1.787 billion Powerball prize was the second-largest lottery jackpot of all time. The largest jackpot won in Ohio came from Mega Millions. Brian C. Mulhall claimed a 372 million prize in trust on Dec. 17 2019 the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The ticket was purchased at a Giant Eagle in Mentor. The biggest Powerball win in Ohio came in June 2010 when an anonymous winner claimed the 261.6 million jackpot through a blind trust according to Jackpot.com. The ticket was purchased at a carryout store in Sunbury. The winner opted for a lump sum taking home 135 million before taxes. On Thursday Dec. 11 Powerball officials announced that the jackpot had reached the 1 billion mark the seventh-largest in Powerball history. The Wednesday Dec. 10 2025 drawing was worth 936 million. The drawing for the billion-dollar prize will be held at 10 59 p.m. Saturday Dec. 13 2025. Ticket sales ahead of the Saturday Dec. 13 Powerball drawing may push the jackpot to a higher place on this list. A single ticket won a 1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot on Jan. 22 2021 in Michigan. An Oakland County lottery club the Wolverine FLL Club made up of four members came forward to claim the prize. Kurt Panouses an Indialantic Florida-based attorney who represents lottery winners represented the Wolverine FLL Club. The winning ticket was purchased from a Kroger grocery store in Novi Michigan. A single ticket was purchased in California for the July 19 2023 Powerball drawing for 1.08 billion. The winning ticket was sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market in Los Angeles which received a 1 million bonus commission according to California Lottery officials. Owner Nabor Herrera was not aware that he'd sold the winning ticket until he saw media gathered in front of his store the morning after the drawing. Yanira Alvarez of California claimed the prize. A single ticket was purchased in Neptune New Jersey for the March 26 2024 Mega Millions drawing for 1.128 billion. The winner who chose to remain anonymous finally came forward a day before Christmas Eve or Dec. 23 2024. A single ticket in California purchased just after Christmas and Hanukkah and ahead of New Year's Eve correctly matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball to win the 1.22 billion Mega Millions drawing for Dec. 27 2024. Months later the winner was revealed on St. Patrick's Day 2025. Rosemary Casarotti of California officially collected her prize which had ballooned to 1.269 billion after final ticket sales. Casarotti opted for the lump sum valued at more than 571 million less federal taxes. The ticket was sold at a Circle K in Cottonwood California. One ticket three winners A single ticket was purchased by Cheng and Duanpen Saephan and Laiza Chao of Oregon for 1.326 billion Powerball prize on April 6 2024. A single ticket in Illinois won the July 29 2022 Mega Millions drawing. Two people who wished to remain anonymous claimed the 1.337 billion jackpot. A single ticket in Maine claimed the Jan. 13 2023 Mega Millions drawing. The winner remains anonymous through a trust and accepted their winnings of 1.35 billion through the limited liability company LaKoma Island Investments LLC according to a Feb. 22 2023 story in USA TODAY. A single ticket was purchased in South Carolina for the Oct. 23 2018 Mega Millions drawing. The 1.537 billion winner was never revealed. Winners in South Carolina can remain anonymous. A single ticket sold at a Publix in Neptune Beach Florida won the Mega Millions drawing for Aug. 8 2023. The 1.58 billion winner claimed the prize on Sept. 25 2023 and the Florida Lottery announced the winner Saltines Holdings LLC of Miami on Dec. 27 2023. Their actual identity remains a mystery. In Florida it is public record to know the identities of lottery winners and where the winning ticket was sold but lottery experts have said there are ways to remain anonymous. Three tickets purchased in California Florida and Tennessee won the Jan. 13 2016 Powerball drawing splitting 1.586 billion. In 2016 FLORIDA TODAY reported Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt bought their winning Powerball ticket at a Publix in Melbourne Beach. The couple waited until February 2016 to claim their share of the grand prize. Six months after the drawing Marvin and Mae Acosta of California claimed their Powerball winnings of 528.8 million according to the California Lottery. The Tennessee Lottery announced a family from Munford Tennessee was the third winner in the 1.586 billion Powerball jackpot. John and Lisa Robinson claimed their share of the jackpot after making an appearance on NBCs Today show with Savannah Guthrie and Carson Daly to declare themselves the winners. For the 1.73 billion Powerball prize for Oct. 11 2023 Theodorus Struyck of California came forward to claim the ticket. California Lottery said he represented a group of winners. In California a big jackpot winner must claim the ticket in person. It was purchased at Midway Market in California. In just under three months the Powerball lottery that started on June 2 2025 at 20 million grew to an estimated 1.787 billion for Saturday Sept. 6 2025. On Friday Aug. 29 2025 lottery officials announced this series crossed the billion-dollar mark. A pair of tickets sold in Texas and Missouri won and split the jackpot. The largest lottery prize ever climbed to 2.04 billion in November 2022. The jackpot was an estimated 1.9 billion days before the drawing but lottery ticket sales helped it grow to more than 2 billion after updated calculations. A single ticket purchased in California won the grand prize and the winner was revealed on Valentine's Day Feb. 14 2023. Edwin Castro won the largest-ever lottery jackpot and he opted for a lump sum of 997.6 million just shy of 1 billion according to the California Lottery. It varies depending on the number of rollovers and ticket sales. Sometimes its just over two or three months of drawings. Prizes for Ohio Lottery must be claimed within 180 days (six months) from the date of the drawing. As of Dec. 12 2025 there have been 14 lottery jackpots that have reached or surpassed 1 billion. Only once has a jackpot surpassed 2 billion. These are the biggest lottery jackpots in U.S. history