California’s Biggest Lottery Jackpots, and What the Winners’ Claims Show

Written by Eric Ridley, California lottery lawyer and estate planning attorney, Ridley Law. Last reviewed September 28, 2026.

Every California jackpot winner gets named. That’s the law here, and it means there’s a public record of who won, where the ticket was sold, how long the winner took to come forward, and, often, whether they took the lump sum. I pulled that record together for every California-sold jackpot of $100 million or more that I could source, going back to 2013, when California started selling Powerball.

The sections after the table are what I think it shows.

Every California jackpot of $100 million or more since 2013

Newest first. “Jackpot” is the advertised annuity amount as listed by the source cited in that row. “Cash value” is the published lump-sum value, where the Lottery or the game published one. A blank cell means I couldn’t verify it, and the lettered notes below the table say why.

Notes to the table.

• ^a Anaheim: I found no California Lottery release or news report of a claim for this ticket, and no report that it expired. The one-year claim period ran to March 29, 2026. Cells left blank rather than guessed.
• ^b Encino: two tickets with identical numbers were sold at the same store in separate transactions. One was claimed; the other was never presented and expired. The first winner later sued for the second half, saying he bought both and lost one; a Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed the suit in January 2026. The Lottery’s own releases called the jackpot $395 million; Mega Millions lists $394 million.
• ^c Altadena: the draw was scheduled for Nov. 7, 2022 and was held the next morning after a delay. Powerball lists it as the Nov. 7 draw.
• ^d San Jose, 2022: advertised at $494 million before the draw; Mega Millions lists the final jackpot at $502 million. The Lottery’s announcement didn’t say which payment option the winner chose.
• ^e Morro Bay: the cash figure and the winner’s name come from news coverage of the Lottery’s December 2021 announcement. I couldn’t open the Lottery’s own release, so the name isn’t reproduced here.
• ^f San Diego, 2019: pre-draw coverage reported a $530 million advertised jackpot; Mega Millions lists $522 million.
• ^g Menifee: Powerball’s winner story doesn’t state the payment option; ABC7 reported a lump sum. News reports differ on the exact cash figure, so it’s omitted.
• ^h Nipton: the ticket was sold at Primm Valley Lotto, on the California side of the state line at Interstate 15. The claim date wasn’t published; the winner told the Lottery he planned to take the cash.
• ⁱ Chino Hills: $528.8 million was the California ticket’s one-third share. ABC7 reported the claim on the Friday before its July 20, 2016 story.
• ^j South Los Angeles, 2015: I couldn’t find a claim announcement or an expiration notice for this ticket. Blank cells mean unverified.
• ^k Tran: the jackpot was advertised at $648 million; some coverage used the final figure of $636 million. The payment option wasn’t published.
• ^l Fresno: advertised at $216 million before the draw; the Lottery’s winner story uses $213 million. The payment option wasn’t published.

Earlier California jackpots over $100 million

Before April 2013, the big games in California were Mega Millions (from 2005) and the in-state SuperLotto Plus. The Mega Millions jackpot history lists these California wins. It gives the winners’ locations but not the retailers, claim dates or payment choices, so I’ve kept them separate from the main table instead of filling it with blanks.

The $193 million SuperLotto Plus record dates to 2002, per the Lottery; I couldn’t verify its exact date or retailers from a primary source. Mega Millions also lists a $208 million jackpot on December 27, 2011, won by a San Jose resident, but that ticket was bought in New York, so it isn’t a California-sold jackpot and it’s left out.

Cash or annuity: what California winners chose

Of the 23 tickets in the main table, the payment choice is public for 14. On 13 of those 14, the winner took the cash. The one exception is the San Mateo winner, who claimed a $228.4 million Powerball prize in San Mateo the day after the September 2014 draw and chose the annuity, 30 payments totaling $228,467,735.

Every one of the billion-dollar winners whose choice is public took cash: the Altadena winner ($997.6 million), the 2024 Frazier Park winner ($558.1 million), the Cottonwood winner (more than $571 million), and a Chino Hills couple’s $327.8 million share of the 2016 Chino Hills jackpot. The two Arleta winners of May 2025 split a lump sum of nearly $46 million each.

That lopsided number is worth knowing, but it isn’t a recommendation. A table of winners can tell you what people chose. It can’t tell you how the choice worked out for them, and the annuity has advantages that don’t show up in a press release, starting with a payment stream that’s hard to lose all at once. I walk through the math and the planning trade-offs in lump sum vs. annuity for California winners.

The rules on the choice are strict. A Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot winner has 60 days from the date the Lottery validates the ticket and authorizes payment to irrevocably elect the cash value. If no election is made in that window, the prize pays as an annuity. Group claims must elect cash unanimously, or everyone gets the annuity (Lottery Regs, §§ 3.6.5(h), 3.7.5(i)). SuperLotto Plus has the same 60-day election (Lottery Regs, § 3.9.4(7)).

How long winners waited to claim

Two different clocks show up in the record, and they shouldn’t be mixed.

Actual claim dates. For six tickets, the date the winner walked in is public. The San Mateo winner claimed one day after the draw. The Santa Clara County office pool claimed its $543 million the day after the July 2018 draw. The Fresno winner took 12 days, another winner 16 days, and a 2014 winner 41 days, deliberately. The Chino Hills couple waited about six months. The median of those six is two weeks.

Announcement dates. For most recent winners, only the date the Lottery named them is public. The Lottery says it doesn’t announce a winner’s name until the winner has come forward, been vetted by Lottery law enforcement, been declared the rightful winner, and received the official prize payment. So the announcement date is the last date the claim could have happened, and the real claim came earlier. Across the 11 winners named from 2019 through 2025, the gap from draw to announcement ran from 67 days (Morro Bay, 2021) to 254 days (Frazier Park, 2024). The median was 102 days.

The winners of the last several years didn’t rush. Some of that is the Lottery’s vetting, and some is winners taking time on purpose, which isn’t new. One 2014 winner did it and said so publicly. He found the Winner’s Handbook on the Lottery’s site, spent over a week lining up legal and financial representation, and then claimed. The Lottery described the Chino Hills couple and a 2023 winning couple the same way, as winners who assembled advisors before coming forward.

The one-year deadline, and the ticket that ran out of time

A Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot must be claimed within one year of the draw date. Every other draw-game prize, including a SuperLotto Plus jackpot, has 180 days (Lottery Regs, § 5.2.1; Gov. Code, § 8880.321, subd. (e)). Scratchers prizes run 180 days from the announced end-of-game date (Lottery Regs, § 5.2.2).

The Encino rows in the table show what happens when the year runs out. On December 8, 2023, two tickets with the same numbers, sold at the same Chevron on Ventura Boulevard in separate transactions, split a $394 million Mega Millions jackpot. One winner came forward and was named in June 2024. The other ticket was never presented. The Lottery put out a public warning days before the deadline, and the second $197.5 million share expired on December 7, 2024.

Then it went to court. The winner who’d claimed the first half sued, saying he’d bought both tickets and lost one. A second person tried to intervene, saying she’d bought the ticket and it had been stolen. In January 2026, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed the case, writing that payment of a Mega Millions prize without a valid winning ticket is “expressly barred” by the game rules and California law, as reported by MyNewsLA.

The statute does let the Lottery pay without the physical ticket when it can validate the claim on “substantial proof” under its own procedures (Gov. Code, § 8880.321, subd. (b)). Neither claimant got there. The regulations put the burden on the player: you’re solely responsible for securing your ticket against theft, loss, damage, or destruction (Lottery Regs, § 5.5.4), and whoever holds an unsigned winning ticket is the presumptive owner (Lottery Regs, § 5.5.5).

The Anaheim ticket from March 2025 is the other open question in the table. Its year ran out on March 29, 2026. I couldn’t find a Lottery announcement of a winner or an expiration notice for it, so those cells stay blank until one or the other is published.

What happens to unclaimed California prizes

Unclaimed prize money doesn’t go back into the jackpot and doesn’t go to the store. Under Gov. Code, § 8880.321, subdivision (e), unclaimed prize money is treated under § 8880.4, subdivision (a), or, since the 2009-10 fiscal year, as total Lottery revenues under § 8880.4.5. Section 8880.4, subdivision (a)(3), says it directly: “All unclaimed prize money shall revert to the benefit of public education.”

In plain terms, an expired ticket becomes Lottery revenue, and the Lottery’s revenue funds public schools. The Lottery reported in June 2025 that it had raised more than $1 billion for education from unclaimed prizes since 1985. The Encino share is the largest single example in this table.

Why every name in this table is public

California doesn’t offer anonymous claiming. Lottery Regs, § 5.8.1 lets the Lottery publish winners’ names, the names and locations of the retailers that sold winning tickets, and prize amounts. It won’t disclose additional personal information, such as age, home address, employer, or phone number, without the winner’s consent unless the law requires it.

The claim itself has to be made by a person. “Winners must be natural persons” (Lottery Regs, § 5.4.1). That’s why the table has no trusts or LLCs in it, while the national Mega Millions history is full of them from states that allow entity claims. A group in California appears the way the Frazier Park and Santa Clara County winners did, as individual people with a named representative.

What the table also shows is how little the Lottery publishes beyond the name. Most of the recent billion-dollar winners declined public comment. The Lottery published their names and little else. One couple’s statement asked people to respect their privacy and said they’d engaged financial, legal and other advisors. The name goes out. Everything else is up to the winner, and most of the privacy work happens off the claim form. I cover what’s possible in can you stay anonymous after winning the lottery in California and keeping your name off your California property.

What the table teaches a new winner

Sign the ticket and secure it. The Encino case is a $197.5 million lesson in what an unpresented ticket is worth. Sign the back and store it somewhere other than your house.

Use the year. On a Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot you have twelve months, and the recent winners in this table used a good part of it. Several of them read the Winner’s Handbook first. Put a lawyer and a CPA in place before the claim, not after. My checklist for that window is at I just won and haven’t claimed yet.

Paper the group before anyone claims. Three of the biggest wins here were shared: the 11-person Santa Clara County pool, the Frazier Park group, and the two Arleta winners who split a ticket. A jackpot shared by up to 100 people can be paid to each of them individually through the Lottery’s Multiple Ownership Claim Form (Lottery Regs, § 5.6.2), and the cash election has to be unanimous. If the ownership split isn’t documented before the claim, a later payout to co-owners can look like a gift. See lottery pool agreements in California.

Decide cash or annuity on purpose. You’ll have 60 days after validation, and the default is the annuity. Most California winners took cash, but that’s a description of the past, and your age, family and plans decide what’s right for you. Start with lump sum vs. annuity.

Plan for your name being public. It will be, so do the address and title work early.

If you bought a multistate ticket, the game-specific details are at Powerball and Mega Millions winners in California, and the full sequence is on my guide to winning the lottery in California.

How we built this table

I started with the California Lottery’s press releases from November 2023 through September 25, 2026, downloaded from the Lottery’s media resources page, and the official jackpot histories and winner stories on Powerball.com and MegaMillions.com, many of which republish the Lottery’s own announcements. For older wins and for facts the official sources didn’t cover, I used local television, AP and other news reports, and every row links the sources I opened. All sources were retrieved September 28, 2026. I list a winner’s name only where the California Lottery announced it, and only as announced. A blank cell means I couldn’t verify the fact, and the notes say which. Payment choices count only when the Lottery or a named news report stated them. The raw data is kept in a spreadsheet so the rows can be checked and extended.

Last updated September 28, 2026. As of that date, the most recent California-sold jackpot of $100 million or more in the Lottery’s releases was the Arleta Powerball of May 31, 2025. I’ll update the table as new California jackpots are won and claimed, and when the Lottery publishes the outcome of the Anaheim ticket.

Questions I get asked

Who won the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in California?

The California Lottery announced on February 14, 2023, that one ticket had won the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot from the November 7, 2022 draw. The ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena. The winner took the cash value of $997.6 million before federal taxes and declined to appear publicly. The Lottery published the winner’s name, as California law requires. I don’t repeat winners’ names on this page.

What is the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won in California?

The $1.269 billion jackpot from the December 27, 2024 draw, sold at the Sunshine Food and Gas Circle K in Cottonwood, Shasta County. The Lottery announced the winner on March 17, 2025. The winner took the lump sum, valued at more than $571 million before federal taxes, and asked to stay as private as possible.

How many billion-dollar jackpots have been won in California?

Five tickets sold in California have won or shared a jackpot over $1 billion: Chino Hills (a one-third share of $1.586 billion, 2016), Altadena ($2.04 billion, 2022), downtown Los Angeles ($1.08 billion, 2023), Frazier Park ($1.765 billion, 2023), and Cottonwood ($1.269 billion, 2024). The first four were Powerball; Cottonwood was Mega Millions.

Do California lottery winners take the lump sum or the annuity?

Almost always the lump sum, based on the public record. Of the 23 California jackpots of $100 million or more since 2013, the payment choice is public for 14, and 13 took cash. The only annuity was a $228.4 million San Mateo Powerball in 2014.

How long do you have to claim a Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot in California?

One year from the draw date (Lottery Regs, § 5.2.1). Every other draw-game prize in California, including a SuperLotto Plus jackpot and second-place Powerball or Mega Millions prizes, must be claimed within 180 days. After you claim a jackpot, you have 60 days from validation to elect cash, or the prize pays as an annuity.

What happens if a California lottery jackpot isn’t claimed?

It becomes Lottery revenue, and the law directs unclaimed prize money to the benefit of public education (Gov. Code, §§ 8880.321, subd. (e), 8880.4, subd. (a)(3)). The biggest California example is the second Encino Mega Millions ticket, whose $197.5 million share expired on December 7, 2024.

Can a California jackpot winner stay anonymous?

No. Lottery Regs, § 5.8.1 lets the Lottery publish your name, the retailer and its location, and the prize amount, and a trust or LLC can’t claim in your place because winners must be natural persons (§ 5.4.1). Your age, home address, employer and phone number aren’t released without your consent unless the law requires it.

Where was the last big California Powerball jackpot sold?

The most recent California-sold Powerball jackpot over $100 million in the Lottery’s releases was $204.5 million from the May 31, 2025 draw, sold at the 7-Eleven on Woodman Avenue in Arleta. Two winners split the lump sum, nearly $46 million each before federal taxes, according to the Lottery.

Read this before you act on anything above

This is general information, not legal advice. Reading it doesn’t make you my client, and I don’t know your facts. The table reports what public sources say about other people’s wins. It isn’t a prediction about yours.

The data has gaps. Where a fact couldn’t be verified, the cell is blank and the note says so. Figures come from the source cited in each row, and sources sometimes differ on an advertised amount or a cash value. If you spot an error or a newer announcement, the Lottery’s own release controls.

Lottery rules are the Lottery’s. The regulations cited here are from the Commission-approved edition dated June 16, 2026. Confirm deadlines and forms with the California Lottery before you rely on a date.

Tax preparation is not my practice. California doesn’t tax California Lottery prizes (Gov. Code, § 8880.68), but federal tax applies, and you need a CPA or enrolled agent for the returns. Family law is not my practice either. If you’re married and separated or divorcing, talk to a family law attorney before you claim.

Ridley Law, Eric Ridley, California Bar No. 273702. Practice limited to estate planning, trust administration, and uncontested probate, serving Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles counties. This is attorney advertising.

Sources

• California State Lottery Regulations, Commission-approved edition, June 16, 2026, §§ 3.6.5(h), 3.7.5(i), 3.9.4(7), 5.2.1, 5.2.2, 5.4.1, 5.5.4, 5.5.5, 5.6.2, 5.8.1
• Gov. Code, § 8880.321
• Gov. Code, § 8880.4
• Gov. Code, § 8880.4.5
• Gov. Code, § 8880.68
• California Lottery, media resources and press release archive
• California Lottery press release, Dec. 11, 2023 (two Encino jackpot tickets)
• California Lottery press release, Dec. 29, 2023 (2023 year in review)
• California Lottery press release, Dec. 3, 2024 (when winners are named)
• California Lottery press release, Dec. 28, 2024 (Cottonwood jackpot)
• California Lottery press release, June 12, 2025 (unclaimed prizes)
• MegaMillions.com, Jackpot History
• MyNewsLA, Jan. 26, 2026 (Encino lawsuit dismissed)
• CBS Los Angeles (Encino lawsuit filed)
• CA Lottery, June 1, 2025 (Powerball, May 31, 2025 draw)
• CA Lottery, Sept. 3, 2025 (Powerball, May 31, 2025 draw)
• Powerball.com (Powerball, May 31, 2025 draw)
• CA Lottery, Mar. 30, 2025 (Powerball, Mar. 29, 2025 draw)
• Powerball.com (Powerball, Mar. 29, 2025 draw)
• CA Lottery, Mar. 17, 2025 (Mega Millions, Dec. 27, 2024 draw)
• CA Lottery, June 25, 2024 (Mega Millions, Dec. 8, 2023 draw)
• CA Lottery, Dec. 4, 2024 (Mega Millions, Dec. 8, 2023 draw)
• CA Lottery, Mar. 15, 2024 (Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023 draw)
• Powerball.com (Powerball, Oct. 11, 2023 draw)
• CA Lottery, Mar. 29, 2024 (Powerball, Jul. 19, 2023 draw)
• Powerball.com (CA Lottery announcement) (Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022 draw)
• Powerball.com draw report (Powerball, Nov. 7, 2022 draw)
• MegaMillions.com (CA Lottery release) (Mega Millions, Oct. 14, 2022 draw)
• MegaMillions.com winner story (Mega Millions, Jan. 28, 2022 draw)
• Powerball.com (CA Lottery release) (Powerball, Jan. 5, 2022 draw)
• Powerball.com, Jan. 7, 2022 (Powerball, Jan. 5, 2022 draw)
• Powerball.com (CA Lottery release) (Powerball, Oct. 4, 2021 draw)
• KCBS Radio, Dec. 10, 2021 (Powerball, Oct. 4, 2021 draw)
• MegaMillions.com winner story (Mega Millions, Jun. 7, 2019 draw)
• MegaMillions.com (CA Lottery release) (Mega Millions, Jul. 24, 2018 draw)
• Powerball.com (CA Lottery release) (Powerball, Jun. 10, 2017 draw)
• ABC7 Los Angeles, July 19, 2017 (Powerball, Jun. 10, 2017 draw)
• KTNV Las Vegas (Mega Millions, Jan. 27, 2017 draw)
• Powerball.com (CA Lottery release) (Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 draw)
• ABC7 Los Angeles, July 20, 2016 (Powerball, Jan. 13, 2016 draw)
• ABC7 Los Angeles, Aug. 2, 2015 (Powerball, Aug. 1, 2015 draw)
• Powerball.com (CA Lottery release) (Powerball, Sept. 24, 2014 draw)
• CBS Los Angeles, Sept. 3, 2014 (Mega Millions, Aug. 22, 2014 draw)
• Powerball.com (CA Lottery release) (Powerball, Feb. 19, 2014 draw)
• CA Lottery, Oct. 10, 2025 (Mega Millions, Dec. 17, 2013 draw)
• CBS San Francisco (AP), Jan. 3, 2014 (Mega Millions, Dec. 17, 2013 draw)
• Powerball.com (CA Lottery release) (Powerball, Oct. 23, 2013 draw)
• KMPH Fresno, Nov. 4, 2013 (Powerball, Oct. 23, 2013 draw)

Related reading

• What to do if you win the lottery in California
• I just won and haven’t claimed yet
• Powerball and Mega Millions winners in California
• Lump sum vs. annuity for California lottery winners
• Can you stay anonymous after winning the lottery in California?
• Lottery pool agreements in California
• California lottery taxes
• Can a trust claim lottery winnings in California?