Lucky Lotto Happenings

Winning the lottery is rare luck. Statistically, a person has a better chance of becoming an Olympic medalist than of hitting the jackpot. But some people have managed to grab luck by the tail. Here are the top 10 big lottery winnings that have made life for decades for ticket holders.

#10 PowerBall

On Christmas Eve, American Jack Whittaker got the news – he was the owner of $315 million. The money did not bring happiness. Jack’s house had been robbed several times. Moreover, he spent part of his winnings to commit illegal activities. Whittaker’s wife admitted she cursed the day her husband hit the jackpot.

#9 PowerBall

In 2005, American Steve West accidentally bought a local PowerBall lottery ticket. The lucky man guessed all the numbers, which brought him $340 million. Steve was guided only by his intuition when filling it out. No mathematical formulae or calculations were used.

#8 Mega Millions

A kid in a US diner gave the cashier a big note. The cashier didn’t have change, so he offered to buy up the difference with lottery tickets. The young man agreed and was right: the same evening he became rich by 363 million dollars.

#7 PowerBall

In 2006 employees of a meat-packing plant in Nebraska bought several dozen lottery tickets together. One of the receipts won $363 million. How the employees distributed the winnings among themselves, history is silent.

#6 Mega Millions

When the Mega Millions jackpot reached $390 million, there was a real stir. Millions of Americans bought the lottery ticket in the hope of striking it rich. In the end, there were two lucky winners who wished to remain anonymous. They split the jackpot in half.

#5 PowerBall

In 2014, retired Californian Raymond Buxton became a $425 million winner when he bought a PowerBall lottery ticket. He postponed a visit to the organisers’ office for another month. What for? Just to show up on April 1 (Fool’s Day) wearing a Star Wars costume and a “Jedi Force with me!” t-shirt.

#4 PowerBall

The $587 million win in 2012 was shared by several people. On average, each of the lucky winners received $86 million. The need to share hardly dampened the winners’ spirits much.

#3 PowerBall

A substantial lottery jackpot was struck in 2013 by American Gloria McKenzie. It amounted to $590 million. The sum of over half a billion USD did not have to be shared. Gloria became the sole owner of one of the biggest winnings in US history.

#2 Mega Millions

The $640 million Mega Millions was shared by three Mega Millions entrants in 2012. Each lucky winner claimed approximately $213 million. The names of the winners remained a mystery to the press.

#1 PowerBall

A mind-blowing event took place in 2016. Three bingo contestants snatched a $1.5 billion jackpot. Each took away around half a million. Again, none of the lucky winners were willing to divulge their details to the press. This is the biggest win in lottery history. It’s unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon.