Ahead of $1.23 billion jackpot drawing, which states have the most lottery winners? (2024)

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Ahead of $1.23 billion jackpot drawing, which states have the most lottery winners? ›

Pennsylvania has sold the most Powerball jackpot-winning tickets, followed by Florida. California, New York, and Indiana are among states that have all sold over 10 Powerball jackpot-winning tickets. The Powerball jackpot continues to climb and hit new records after no winners have claimed the prize in four months.

New York state is home to the most Mega Millions jackpot winners, with 42 winning tickets sold in the Empire State. California follows with 36 winning tickets sold in-state. The more populated states correlate to selling more Mega Millions jackpot-winning tickets.

The winner of the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot in Oregon last month is an immigrant from Laos who had been battling cancer for eight years. The winning Powerball ticket was sold in early April at a Plaid Pantry convenience store in Portland, ending a winless streak that had stretched more than three months.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Since 2003, of the 49 jurisdictions that participate in Powerball, only five have not sold a jackpot ticket: Maine, Mississippi, North Dakota, Wyoming, and the Virgin Islands.

This is the game's fifth largest jackpot prize ever. A single ticket sold at a ShopRite liquor store in Neptune Township, New Jersey, had all of the winning numbers in Tuesday evening's drawing for the Mega Millions $1.13 billion jackpot.

California, New York, Indiana, New Jersey, Missouri, and Louisiana have all sold over 10 Powerball jackpot-winning tickets. Five states or jurisdictions that participate in Powerball have yet to sell a winning ticket: Maine, Mississippi, North Dakota, the Virgin Islands, and Washington.

Convenience stores sell the most winning lottery tickets

From 2021 to 2024, gas station convenience stores were the number-one seller of winning lottery tickets, followed closely by independent convenience stores.

U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens who can provide a social security number will see 34% of their winnings withheld, according to the California Lottery Winner's Handbook. However, any winner who is not a U.S. Citizen or a Resident Alien will see 30% of their prize withheld for tax purposes.

Has a non U.S. citizen ever won the lottery? ›

Lottery officials don't verify immigration status. Powerball isn't the only lottery game that doesn't require U.S. citizenship for winners to claim their prize. In 2015, a man from Iraq bought the winning ticket for a $6.4 million Megabucks jackpot in the Oregon lottery, NBC News reported.

Section 203(c) of the Immigration Act of 1990 makes available up to 50,000 lawful permanent resident (LPR or immigrant, or “green card”) visas each year by random selection through a Diversity Visa Lottery. The lottery is open only during certain times of the year.

The state with the most lottery winners is New York with 50 total winners. The state with the least number of car accident deaths is Rhode Island at only 5 deaths per 100K people.

Powerball and Mega Millions top the charts by each offering players starting jackpots of $20 million. These is also the biggest starting jackpots in the world. For state lotteries, California Superlotto wins with its $7 million starting top prize, while Lotto Texas comes in second place at $5 million.

Arizona: 16 jackpot winners (14 Powerball and 2 Mega Millions) with a top prize of $410 million. Arkansas: 2 jackpot winners (1 Powerball and 1 Mega Millions) with a top prize of $177 million. California: 46 jackpot winners (11 Powerball and 35 Mega Millions) with a top prize of $699.8 million.