Records
What the archive says when you sort it different ways. All of it comes from the same 857 entries — nothing here is estimated.
Largest wins on file
$1.82B Amount only
$1.82B Powerball jackpot
7 independent reports
$1.80B Amount only
$1.80B Powerball jackpot
$1.04B Amount only
$1.04B Powerball jackpot
17 independent reports
$1.00B Amount only
$1.00B Powerball jackpot
16 independent reports
$980M Amount only
$980M Mega Millions jackpot
3 independent reports
$800M Amount only
$800M Mega Millions jackpot
15 independent reports
Biggest return on a single wager
Prize divided by the wager that triggered it. Only entries where the reporting stated both figures — 10 of them.
- 8,651,198× $43.26M off $5 venue not named
- 2,480,000× $12.40M off $5 venue not named
- 2,400,000× $12M off $5 Megabucks
- 2,200,000× $11M off $5 venue not named
- 2,200,000× $11M off $5 venue not named
- 2,060,000× $10.30M off $5 venue not named
- 2,058,582× $10.29M off $5 venue not named
- 2,058,000× $10.29M off $5 venue not named
- 2,040,000× $10.20M off $5 venue not named
- 2,000,000× $10M off $5 venue not named
Smallest bets that paid
Casinos with the most wins on file
Machines that paid most often
Read these as coverage, not frequency — a casino appears here because its wins get reported, which is partly a function of how actively it publicises them.
Pools that got big without paying
Not wins — these are jackpots that climbed to a notable figure. Kept separate from the archive on purpose: a growing pool has no winner.
- $1.80B Powerball jackpot hits $1.8 billion. Here’s the tax bill if you win CNBC · 2025-09-05
- $1.70B Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.7 billion after no winner Monday NBC 6 South Florida · 2025-12-23
- $1.70B Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.7 billion for Christmas Eve drawing ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos · 2025-12-23
- $1.60B Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.6 billion after no winner Saturday NBC 6 South Florida · 2025-12-21
- $1.60B Powerball jackpot soars to $1.6 billion for Monday drawing Powerball · 2025-12-21
- $1.60B Mega Millions players console themselves with funny memes as jackpot soars to RECORD $1.6BILLION Daily Mail · 2018-10-20
- $1.50B Powerball jackpot climbs to $1.5 billion after no winner Wednesday NBC 6 South Florida · 2025-12-18
- $1.00B The Powerball jackpot reached an estimated $1 billion for the next drawing on Wednesday, Aug. 12. It's the largest jackpot of 2026. See link below ⬇️ 📸 Tanya Wildt, Detroit Free Press facebook.com · 2026-08-11