Big lottery wins around the U.S. include a lucky lottery ticketholder in California who won a $1.27 billion Mega Millions jackpot in December 2024. See more big winners here. And if you do end up cashing a jackpot, here’s what experts say to do first.

Marvin and Mae Acosta bought $1.586 billion Powerball ticket at a California 7-11, said they would dedicate some prize money to a trust and charities.

Joseph Wheat won a $775,000 lottery prize in Louisiana, and asked his wife to double-check that he had winning numbers on Jan. 3: 'I made her come check the ticket to make sure I was really seeing what I thought I was seeing,

Over the years, Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots crossed the elusive billion-dollar mark a whopping 14 times. Only once did it surpass $2 billion.