Powerball, Mega Millions billion-dollar jackpots, winners: Fun things to know
When jackpots get to $1 billion, it’s a lottery frenzy. Edwin Castro, Florida, Publix, California and Christmas have a strong Mega Millions and Powerball tie.
Who is Edwin Castro? Biggest Powerball winner ever won $2.04 billion
Edwin Castro of California, biggest lottery winner in history, claimed $2.04 billion Powerball on Feb. 14, 2023. Joe’s Service Center sold the ticket.
- Edwin Castro of Altadena, California, holds the record for largest lottery winner ever with $2.04 billion Powerball win from November 2022.
- From July 2022 to August 2023, there were 5 lottery jackpots that reached $1 billion and one that surpassed $2 billion.
- What? One time, Powerball and Mega Millions had billion-dollar jackpots in the same month.
- 2 times in history, Powerball had back-to-back $1 billion lottery jackpots.
Will a $2 ticket make you a billionaire?
As they say in the lottery business, “it could happen to you.”
A lot of eyes are on the next Powerball lottery drawing for $1.25 billion after no one matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in the Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, Powerball drawing. Almost two hours after the draw, the jackpot jumped from $1.1 billion to $1.25 billion for Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.
This lottery streak marks the 14th billion-dollar Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot in U.S. history. Interestingly, the last lottery frenzy came to a hilt Friday, Nov. 14, 2025 − almost a month to the day for the next billion-dollar lottery jackpot − when a ticket from a Publix in Newnan, Georgia, won the near-$1 billion Mega Millions grand prize. (Final sales pushed the $980 million pot to a whopping $983 million for that drawing. As of Dec. 16, 2025, the near-$1 billion Mega Millions lottery winner from Georgia has not publicly come forward to claim their prize, according to the Georgia Lottery.)
Speaking of Publix, the Lakeland, Florida-based grocery store chain has ties to two other billion-dollar lottery jackpots, for almost the same amount, in the same state.
And we can’t forget that one time two back-to-back billion-dollar Powerball lottery jackpots were claimed by a winner − in the same state (we’re looking at you, California!).
Below are fun facts about Powerball and Mega Millions and those billion-dollar lottery drawings.
From July 2022 to August 2023, there were 5 lottery jackpots that reached $1 billion and one that surpassed $2 billion
When the lottery jackpots grow, it’s fun for players. But when they grow to $1 billion? That’s a recipe for a lottery frenzy. It happened four times in just over one year, from late July 2022 to early August 2023.
- The $1.337 billion Mega Millions prize for the July 29, 2022, drawing was won by an anonymous partnership with a ticket purchased in Des Plaines, Illinois.
- The $2.04 billion Powerball prize from the Nov. 7, 2022, drawing was claimed by Edwin Castro of Altadena, California.
- The $1.348 billion Mega Millions prize for the Jan. 13, 2023, drawing was claimed by LaKoma Island Investments LLC, with the ticket purchased in Lebanon, Maine.
- The $1.08 billion Powerball prize for the July 19, 2023, drawing was claimed by Yanira Alvarez of California.
- The $1.58 billion Mega Millions prize for the Aug. 8, 2023, drawing was claimed by Saltines Holdings LLC in Miami, Florida. That ticket was purchased from a Publix in Neptune Beach, Florida. Fun facts: Three tickets, including one from California and Tennessee, split the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot from the Jan. 13, 2016, drawing, with the other ticket coming from a Publix in Melbourne Beach, Florida. (These are the billion-dollar Powerball and Mega Millions lottery jackpots that have that same amount, same state tie.)
That one time Powerball, Mega Millions had billion-dollar jackpots in the same month
Mega Millions and Powerball lottery games had billion-dollar jackpots in the same month — who would’ve thought?
In 2023, after three months of rollovers − from April to July − Mega Millions hit the billion-dollar mark after no one matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball in the Friday, July 28, 2023, drawing. Two hours after the winning numbers were picked, the $940 million jackpot soared to a whopping $1.05 billion.
This next paragraph may sound like deja vu: After three months of rollovers − from April to July − Powerball hit the billion-dollar mark July 18, 2023, when no one matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in the Monday, July 17, drawing. A single ticket purchased by Yanira Alvarez in California eventually won the Powerball on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, for $1.08 billion.
Coincidence? Two of the U.S. lottery’s biggest games reached $1 billion in jackpots in the same month in the same year stemming from rollovers that started in the same month in the same year.
Those two times Powerball had back-to-back $1 billion lottery jackpots
According to Powerball online, the Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, jackpot marks the second-largest Powerball prize in 2025, with this lottery streak immediately following the $1.787 billion Powerball prize won on Sept. 6, 2025, by a pair of tickets in St. Louis, Missouri, and Fredericksburg, Texas. “This marks only the second time in Powerball history that the game has generated back-to-back billion-dollar jackpots,” the site states.
“Powerball has only seen back-to-back to billion-dollar jackpots twice, and this one has arrived just in time for the holidays,” Matt Strawn, Iowa Lottery CEO and Powerball Product Group Chair said on powerball.com.
“The only other time the Powerball game generated back-to-back billion-dollar jackpots was in 2023, when a $1.08 billion jackpot was won on July 19, followed by a $1.765 billion jackpot won on Oct. 11. Both jackpots were won by players in California.” (See paragraphs above and this next one below.)
That one time California won back-to-back $1 billion lottery jackpot wins
Oh, California! Florida has had some amazing Powerball and Mega Millions billion-dollar lottery wins, but the Golden State outshines the Sunshine State for $1 billion jackpot prizes. In fact, in one year, a back-to-back billion-dollar Powerball lottery drawing produced two winners from California (yay for California, a colossal begrudgingly good-sportsmanship groan by all other states).
- The $1.08 billion Powerball prize for the July 19, 2023, drawing was claimed by Yanira Alvarez of California.
- The $1.73 billion Powerball prize for the Oct. 11, 2023, drawing was claimed by Theodorus Struyck of California, who represented a group of winners. In California, winners must be identified.
A repeat! $1 billion lottery jackpot for Christmas and Hanukkah 2024 and Christmas and Hanukkah 2025
In 2024, one lucky lottery player had quite a holiday season: Just after Christmas and Hanukkah and ahead of New Year’s Eve, a ticket in California 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 the luckiest holiday of all — St. Patrick’s Day 2025. Rosemary Casarotti of California officially collected her prize, which had ballooned to $1.269 billion after final ticket sales. That lottery streak started Friday, Sept. 13, 2024 (a Friday the 13th, no less), at $20 million.
In 2025, there’s a $1.25 billion Powerball lottery jackpot up for grabs after no one matched all five numbers plus the Powerball in the Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, Powerball drawing. The current lottery streak started Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, at $20 million − very similar to the Mega Millions-2024 holiday lottery craze.
Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.
This content is sourced from www.tcpalm.com and is shared for informational purposes only.
