On average, a US adult spends around $285 per year on the lottery. According to the data collected by 24/7 Wall St. In 2017, $71.8 billion worth of lottery tickets were purchased. Fast forward to 2021, and you can be sure that those figures are higher, and this is mainly to do with the increasing popularity of the game and the enormous payouts it can deliver. The lottery has impacted the lives of so many US citizens over the years, and 2021 has seen 3 of the biggest US lottery winners ever. We are going to have a look at the story of these lucky winners. For all US lotto game results,lotteryamerica.com is where you should visit.

$1.586 billion (Powerball) Won by 3 Players

It could have been scooped by a single player, but in the end it was shared between 3. And although the chances of 3 winners at once are low, none of them would have complained about the split because the fortune they landed was still more than anyone needs for the rest of their life. 

It was the January 13 2016 Powerball lottery draw that produced the win, and everyone knew the winner was going to become a billionaire, yet no one did quite get billionaire status due to the 3-way split which came to a total of $533 million.  

The lucky winners were: 

● John and Lisa Robinson in Tennessee● Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt in Florida● Marvin and Mae Acosta in California all had the option of roughly $533 million before taxes as an annuity or $327.8 million as the lump-sum payment.

Before tax the winners could ask for a $327.8 million payout in one hit, or receive the winnings annually which would total $533 million which is before tax.

$1.05 billion, Mega Millions, Michigan, one ticket

A four-membered lottery club won the staggering $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot on 22nd January. The winners chose to take up the option of a lump sum payout of $776 million, which will net them a colossal $557 million after deducting taxes. The identity of the members has not been released to respect the privacy wishes of the four members. Winnings of this size will have a massive impact on all the families involved and should lay the foundations for generations to come. You can visit the best free lottery sites on the market and start playing popular lottery games like Powerball and Megamillions right now.

On behalf of the winners, their attorney spoke and said that the group wishes to be humble and intends ‘to pay it forward’ by supporting several charities in the Southeast Michigan area. The ticket was purchased at Kroger grocery store and, as with all jackpot wins, the store where the winning ticket was purchased will receive a commission. Kroger received $50,000, to which it promised to donate all of it to the Food Bank Council of Michigan. It seems that this Mega Millions win has impacted the lives of many.

$731.1 million, Powerball, Maryland, one ticket

20th January marked the day in which Maryland saw its biggest ever lottery win, and the sixth biggest in U.S history. However, on learning of the win, it took a while for the winners to claim their prize, 125 days in fact. The lucky group called themselves ‘The Power Pack’, and decided to take up the lump sum cash option of a whopping $546.8 million, which after state and federal taxes, saw the group net approximately $366.6 million. We dare say that it was worth the wait for that amazing lottery win.

$699.8 million, Powerball, California, one ticket

Just one lucky winner claimed the 4th October Powerball jackpot, worth almost $700 million dollars. The lucky player is from Morro Bay, and they successfully matched all 6 numbers to scoop the $699.8 million dollar jackpot. Powerball says that the chances of winning the jackpot prize come with odds of just one in 292.2 million, which is 1000 times less likely than getting struck by a bolt of lightning. Miracles really can come true.

This jackpot is the seventh largest in the history of the United States lottery, and the winner had a choice between a $496 million cash lump sum or an annuity option which will be paid over a 29-year period.

The Lottery Reaches Many Lives

These are just three of the biggest winners this year, but actually the US lottery creates multiple millionaires. Many lives are touched by the power of Lottery money, with many other large payouts made. But with the charities that receive donations from winners, it seems that lottery money improvesthe lives of so many other people than just the winners, and this is ample justification for it to go on and grow more in the years to come.