The six jackpots in excess of US$400 million were:
1- US$656 million.
The largest ever lottery jackpot was offered in the Mega Millions draw on March 30, 2012 and was shared between three ticket holders from Illinois, Kansas and Maryland. While the winners from Kansas and Maryland chose to remain anonymous, Merle and Patricia Butler of Illinois publicly accepted their share of the win, worth a pre-tax value of $218,666,667
2- US$648 million.
Mega Millions offered a second jackpot worth over $600 million the following year, on December 17, 2013. The top prize was split between Steve Tran, a lorry driver from California, and Ira Curry, an insurance worker from Georgia. Both opted for pre-tax cash payment of US$173.8 million.
3- US$590.5 million.
The largest Powerball jackpot in history was won by Florida retiree Gloria MacKenzie, on May 18 2013. As the 84-year-old widow was the only player to successfully match every number drawn, the jackpot was not shared and MacKenzie became the sole beneficiary of the largest lottery win ever.
4- US$587.5 million.
This impressive jackpot was offered in the Powerball draw on November 28 2012 and was claimed by two winning tickets. Both Matthew Good of Arizona and Cindy and Mark Hill of Missouri selected the pre-tax cash option of $192.3 million.
5- US$448.4 million.
After 12 draws without a top prize winner, this Powerball jackpot was finally won on August 7 2013 by three ticket holders and, for the first time in 20 years, two of the winning tickets were sold in the same state. A New Jersey syndicate known as ‘Ocean’s 16’ took one third of the jackpot while Mario Scamici, also of New Jersey, took a second third. The final winner from Minnesota was named as Paul White, an engineer from Minneapolis.
6- US$425 million.
This Powerball jackpot was won on February 19 2014 after 15 draws without a winner. While the player has yet to come forward and claim their prize, lottery officials have said the ticket was purchased in California.
As the third largest Mega Millions jackpot in history is at stake in tonight’s draw, ticket sales are expected to sky rocket. We recommend anyone who wishes to participate in tonight’s game buys their tickets ready in plenty of time, to avoid the long queues and last minute rush.
Further information on Mega Millions, including the latest winning numbers and how to play, can be found on Mega-Millions.com.