5 of The Biggest Ever Lottery Wins

The lottery. Who can honestly say they have never dreamt of winning big on the lottery? Whether you are sat in the office getting through the 9-5 daily grind or lying awake at night in bed, the dream of winning the lottery is never far from a person’s mind. What would you do if you won millions overnight? Go wild and spend big on designer clothes, cars, a yacht maybe? Would you be kind, gift some of the money to family and friends, maybe give some to charity? Or would you try and be sensible with the money, put it into a savings account and live off the interest for the rest of your life?

Fortunately, for all of you lottery dreamers out there it has never been easier to win the lottery. There are now a number of online lottery sites that allow lottery players to enter lotteries from around the world. For example, a player from the UK can enter lotteries from around the world; USA, South America, Australia: all these lotteries can be entered in online, there are no rules stipulating that you have to be a national citizen of the aforementioned lottery countries to be able to enter them. You have to be in it to win it and if you manage to win, your life will change forever.

So, without further ado, here are the four biggest ever wins in lottery history.

The $1.586 billion Powerball

The Powerball is the number one lottery in the United States of America and the massive prize funds that the Powerball produces proves that it really is the alpha lottery.

The biggest ever Powerball was won in January 2016 when three players each shared a jackpot total of $1.586 billion. The three winners, all American, each had a choice of taking home either $533 million, before taxes, which would be paid out annually or $327.8 million as a lump sum. Upon winning, the lottery winners are also given the option of remaining anonymous or opening up their winning story to the world. I suspect that they are given an incentive to not stay anonymous.

One of the winners, John and Lisa Robinson, a couple from Tennessee who bought their winning ticket at a local grocery store, opted to take the lump sum. As did Maureen Smith from Florida who stated after winning that she planned to “upgrade her truck, get massages and retire off the winnings.”

The $656 million Mega Millions

Not to be outdone, the Mega Millions is a bit like Powerballs little brother and has also had numerous huge jackpots. In March 2012, the $656 million Mega Millions jackpot had - in a similar way to its big brother - three winners. Two of the winners remained anonymous whilst the other winner, Merle Butler from Illinois claimed $218.6 million of the winnings.

In a statement, Merle Butler said that he usually only buys lottery tickets when the jackpot is over $150 million.

“I was retired, but now it looks like I have a new full-time job” said Merle Butler after receiving his money.

Merle’s wife, Patricia stated in an interview to the Huffington Post that: “Winning this amount of money is a major responsibility, one we take seriously and will figure out step-by-step as we go along.”

The $648 million Mega Millions

There were two winners of the December 2013 Mega Million lottery. Ira Curry of Georgia and Steve Tran from California both scooped a lump sum of $173 million.

But Ira and Steve were not the only winners. ‘Jennifer’s Gift Shop’ where Tran bought his winning ticket received $1 million for selling the winner – this perk is awarded in several states across the USA.

After winning, Tran allegedly called his boss and stated: “I don’t think I’m going to come in today, tomorrow or ever.”

The $590.5 million Powerball

This jackpot is special. It is the biggest in American history to be won by only one person. In May 2013, Gloria Mackenzie won the $590.5 million jackpot. Mackenzie was 84-year-old when she scooped the cash, beating the odds of 175 million to one. Mackenzie has four children who will become the heirs to her millions. However, despite her win, Mackenzie has not ventured out to lavishly spend her winnings. Below is a picture of her home – not a mansion, hummer or Lamborghini in site.

The $587.5 million Powerball

This jackpot was scooped in 2012 by Cindy and Mark Hill from Missouri. Cindy decided to play the lottery using the money Mark gave her. The next morning Cindy checked her numbers and realized that she had won.

“I think I’m having a heart attack. I think we just won the lottery” a flabbergasted Cindy told Mark over the phone.

After having her ticket verified by her mother in law, Cindy and Mark then told their sons before Mark announced to the world via Facebook: “We are truly blessed… we were lucky winners of the Powerball.”

Since the win, the couple have set up college funds for their children and donated a hefty amount to civic projects in their local community. Constantly, we hear stories of lottery winners going wild with their money before losing it all but Cindy and Mark Hill have stayed extremely grounded. They have not let the money go to their heads.