The Mega Millions is the biggest lottery in America and its jackpots have set new records in the lottery world, but has the jackpot ever been won in Texas? The answer is yes and we are going to tell you all about the biggest Texas Mega Millions winners. Their amazing stories will show you that any Texan can win the lottery as long as they have faith. Every Mega Millions ticket you buy is a chance to join their ranks!
$810 Million – September 10th, 2024
The Mega Millions drawing on September 10, 2024 produced the biggest Texas Mega Millions winner ever! This win marked the third time the Mega Millions jackpot was claimed in 2024. Following 27 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner, a single lucky ticket purchased at Murphy USA in Sugar Land broke the streak and awarded its holder the immense $810 million jackpot prize. The winning numbers were 1, 2, 16, 24, and 66, with a Mega Ball of 6. The Megaplier for this draw was 4x.
$360 Million – October 6th, 2023
The winner scooped $360 Million! He bought a Quick Pick ticket at Stripes No. 5031, located at 5665 Sherwood Way in San Angelo, and matched all six numbers drawn (12-24-46-57-66, Mega Ball 22).
The winning ticket was estimated at $360 Million in annuity payments or $156.9 Million (before taxes) with the Cash option. The lucky winner has 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim their prize.
Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery declared: “We are absolutely thrilled to have a big Mega Millions jackpot winner right here in Texas and we’re eagerly looking forward to meeting and congratulating the Lone Star State’s largest-ever Mega Millions jackpot winner,”. He also added: “If you have the winning ticket, we encourage you to sign the ticket, put it in a safe place, seek financial and legal advice, and call the Texas Lottery before coming to Austin to claim the prize.”
The store that sold the winning ticket will also receive a $1 Million bonus for its part in this historic win!
$227 Million – September 24th, 2019 – Anonymous
The draw of September 24th, 2019 has raised the bar and set a new Mega Millions record in Texas. A player from Cedar Park scooped an enormous jackpot worth $277 million! This was the largest win in this lottery for the Lone Star state: the Texan player dethroned Mr. Eliberto Cantu and was the biggest Texas Mega Millions winner until a new Texas Mega Millions winner was made on October 6, 2023.
The lucky ticket was purchased at the Lakeline Express Mart located at the intersection of New Hope Drive and Lakeline Boulevard. The winning numbers for the $227 million pot were 6-14-24-42-46/09.
The Cedar Park winner chose to remain anonymous but declared he had purchased a Quick Pick ticket. He received $157,091,592, which is the value of the cash option.
$177 million – March 31, 2017 – Eliberto Cantu
The biggest Texas Mega Millions winner of all time, until September 2019, was a man by the name Eliberto Cantu from the city of Lubbock. On March 31st, 2017, he scooped a huge jackpot worth $177 million. He came to collect the jackpot with his wife, Anita and they chose the lump sum payout of $73 million.
“All I can say is, we’re blessed – and keep buying lottery tickets!”, said Mr. Cantu during the press conference. According to his son, Rodrigo, Mr. Cantu hadn’t exactly realized just how much money he had won.
“My father got up the other morning at 5:30, and realized he didn’t have to go to work” said Rodrigo Cantu about his father. He also said that “They’ve expressed a desire to take care of our family.”
Aside from this, Rodrigo told the press about his father’s plans to donate to the church they had attended for the past 40 years. They purchased a church van and they wanted to fund a construction project at the church.
$144 million – January 29, 2010 – William Kiefer
Back in 2010, William Kiefer set a new lottery record for Texas when he scooped a $144 million jackpot in the Mega Millions. At the time, this was the largest jackpot ever won in the state. So, you may wonder what one does with such an enormous amount of money. Some people like to travel, others choose to buy expensive houses and cars, but Mr. Keifer had very different plans for his prize.
On the spot, he decided that 60% of his total winnings would go to charity. “The greatest gift my parents gave me was to be raised a Christian“. Aged 59, Mr Kiefer said he had three plans for his money: to retire, to donate to worthy causes, and to encourage other people to do the same.
He also said that he sees his win as an opportunity to set an example for other people regarding faith and raising awareness for worthy causes like abused children and relief for Haiti. Another one of William Keifer’s plans is to help support retired nuns.
Sister Deenan Hubbard of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate World told the press that she thinks that this makes him “a really, really good man with a big heart” and that she is convinced that his gesture “sort of reminds you that, yes indeed, people are good.” This is one generous Mega Millions winner!
$128 million – July 6, 2007 – H & H Trust
The members of the H & H Trust of Dallas are Texas lottery royalty. On July 6th, 2017, they scooped a huge jackpot worth $128 million. They were the sole Mega Millions winners of the draw, so they got the entire prize all to themselves. The Dallas winners collected their jackpot via the H&H Trust and very few details about the winners were disclosed to the public.
One of the members said “We were daydreaming about winning the lottery and taking some time off. We checked the ticket just for fun.” In the end, their fun turned out to be quite the excitement, $128 million worth, to be exact.
$125 million – January 9, 2007 – Crump, Allen & Lewis General Partnership
2007 was a very good year in the lottery for Texas players. On January 9th, a Mega Millions pool of nine from Amarillo scooped a jackpot worth $125 million. Four of the members attended the press conference, but it was 67-year-old (at the time) Ronald Crump who stole the show with his giddy jokes. He was in a terrific mood after winning the jackpot. “To all the millions who bought tickets and didn’t win, I thank you very much.”, he said jokingly.
His big plans for his millions were changing his 12-year-old car with one half its age and to start travelling. The destinations he aimed for were Las Vegas, the Caribbean, and New York. “I thought I’d better make Vegas last” joked Mr. Crump.
Aside from traveling, the Crumps wanted to start college funds for all the children in the family, make donations to their local church, and use their money to do good. “We’re going to help a lot of people, I hope” he said.
Another Crump family member who attended the press conference was Ronald’s son, Dean. He worked at a computer software company in Amarillo and he declared “I feel like I have a lot of people who still depend on me. Until we get that situated, I’ll stay there.”
His father, a retired postal employee, said that if he still had a job, he would have to quit it. The Crumps collected their jackpot as a lump payout worth $73.5 million. “I thought it would never happen, and it did. It’s very nice” said Mr. Ronald. “I’d recommend it.”
$115 million – March 1, 2005 – MAL Holdings
Dennis Cane and his wife scooped $115 million and became some of the biggest Mega Millions winners of all time. According to the Texas Lottery Commission, Mr. Cane said “My wife and I have been together since 1978. We’re high school sweethearts. I think we’re just going to take our time with all this, and enjoy it.”
The Mega Millions winners got their winning ticket from Dalrock Grocery on Chelsea Road. The store owner also received a $1 million bonus for selling the jackpot-winning ticket. The Cane’s opted for the $68.2 million cash value on the jackpot.
According to their neighbor, Donna Hanna, this lottery blessing couldn’t have happened to better people. She said that the Cane’s are very involved in their church and that they are devoted to their two sons and daughter.
$106 million – October 1, 2004 – UT Van Nguyen
UT Van Nguyen from Carrollton won a huge jackpot back in October 2004. He scooped $106 million and he became the biggest Texas Mega Millions winner in 2004. Since, Texas has seen more Mega Millions winners scoop even more!
Winning the lottery would change his life forever. Together with his family, he planned to return to Vietnam and help their relatives. He also wanted to help with the construction of a religious temple near Duncanville.
Nguyen came to the press conference accompanied by his nephew, Phan Tran, who also served as a translator for the winner. He told the press that he went to the supermarket where he bought his lottery ticket the day after the draw and the manager told him that somebody in Carrollton had won the jackpot.
“I got a winning numbers printout and quickly saw that I had two of the numbers. When I got home, I picked up the ticket that I had left on the table. ‘Oh my God, I said, Oh my God.’ “, said Mr. Nguyen. His daughter, Jennifer, remembers this moment very clearly. She told the press about the morning when they found out about the win.
“I could hear him crying, and I thought to myself, ‘my God, what’s wrong with him,’ “ she said. “When I walked out there, he was standing there hugging my mother and crying like a baby.” His lottery dream had finally come true. Mr. Nguyen was a regular lottery player. He said he usually bought five tickets on Wednesdays and then five on Fridays. His perseverance eventually got him $62 million, the cash payout on his amazing Mega Milliosn win.
$94 million – May 16, 2006 – Martha L. Cuellar
Martha L. Cuellar is a single mother of two and she used to work three jobs to make ends meet. Now, she is one of the biggest Texas Mega Millions winners and all it took was matching those 5 main numbers and the Mega Ball. She won a whopping $94 million back in 2006. She opted for the lump sum payout on her jackpot, which netted $53 million, a full fortune for the El Paso mom.
She came to collect the jackpot together with her children, her fiancé, and Mr. Bobby Heith, director of media relations for the Texas Lottery. During the conference, Mr. Heith said “She was very excited, as you can imagine“. Staff asked her how many jobs she had, and she said three. They asked her how many jobs she has now, she said, “Zero.“
Ms. Cuellar told the press about how she completely forgot about the lottery ticket she had bought. Two days after the draw, she heard the Mega Millions winning numbers on the radio on her way to work and she got excited because she realized she had the Mega Ball.
“When I got to my car and saw that the numbers matched I started shaking, but I still couldn’t believe it.” She checked and double-checked the numbers and every time, they showed the same thing – that she was the newest Mega Millions winner.
Then she called her fiancé to tell him the good news. “I was so excited I just told him in Spanish, ‘Le pegamos, le pegamos,’ which means ‘We hit it, We hit it’ “ to which her fiance apparently answered: “What?! Who did you hit?”
$82.5 million (1/4 of $330 million) – August 31, 2007 – SB Alchemy Holdings, Ltd.
On August 31st, 2007, there were four winning tickets for a huge jackpot worth $330 million. The prize was shared between winners from New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Texas. The Texas Mega Millions winners claimed their prize as SB Alchemy Holdings, Ltd. Each share of the prize was worth $82.5 million.
$49 Million – October 11, 2016 – It Will Buy Me a Boat Revocable Trust
On October 11th, 2016, Texas made another jackpot winner in the Mega Millions. A $49 million prize was claimed by a trust with quite the straight-forward name – the It Will Buy Me a Boat Revocable Trust of Rockwall. The lucky winners decided to take the single payout option. This left them with $32 million, which is more then enough to buy an entire fleet.
$35 million – May 27, 2011 – won by MAIM Revocable Trust
Another big Mega Millions jackpot worth $35 million was won on May 27th, 2011 by some lucky Texans from Granbury. They decided to claim the prize as the MAIM Revocable Trust. The Mega Millions winners decided to keep details about their personal life private.
$33 million – June 27, 2014 – 6-27-14 Revocable Trust
On June 27th, 2014, a group of Texans scooped a $33 million jackpot in the Mega Millions. The overnight millionaires from Houston wanted to keep a low profile and they chose to collect their prize as the 6-27-14 Revocable Trust. They opted for the cash lump sum payout worth $19.2 million.
$20 million – July 16, 2013 – The Lucky Ones Partnership
Another group of Texas Mega Millions winners from Houston won $20 million on July 16th, 2013. They opted to claim the prize as the “The Lucky Ones” Partnership, a suggestive name for such a joyous occasion.