Real wins, real losses, real history — the stories behind the numbers
Richard Lustig of Orlando, Florida won seven state-sponsored lottery prizes between 1993 and 2010, totaling $1,052,205.58. His story sparked a national debate.
Jack Whittaker of West Virginia won the largest undivided Powerball jackpot in history on Christmas 2002. Within five years, his granddaughter was dead, his wife left him, and his fortune was gone.
From a Surrey man buying burger buns to two London, Ontario immigrants splitting $80M — these are the largest lottery payouts ever in Canada, where winnings are completely tax-free.
A $70 million ticket in Ontario. A $64 million prize in New Brunswick. Every year, tens of millions of dollars in lottery winnings expire unclaimed across Canada.
Millions of players pick numbers based on past frequency. Some numbers have appeared far more than others. But does historical frequency predict anything about the next draw?
Launched on June 12, 1982, Lotto 6/49 was the first nationwide Canadian lottery where players could choose their own numbers. Four decades later, it's still going strong.
Your odds of matching all 7 Lotto Max numbers are 1 in 33,294,800. But that number hides a more interesting story about what you're actually buying when you spend $5.
In the US, a $100M jackpot winner takes home roughly $38M after taxes. In Canada, a $100M winner takes home exactly $100M. The difference is staggering — and almost no one talks about it.
From a $2.04 billion Powerball ticket bought at a gas station in California to the largest Canadian prize ever — these are the ten life-altering moments when someone held the right numbers.
No strategy can improve your odds of winning. But picking numbers strategically can meaningfully change how much you'd win if you do. Here's the counterintuitive math behind number selection.
Roughly 25% of major lottery jackpots worldwide are won by syndicates — groups of people pooling tickets. The math of why this works (and the legal chaos that can follow) is fascinating.
Both are played in 45+ US states. Both build jackpots into the billions. But Powerball and Mega Millions have very different odds, prize structures, and minimum jackpots. Here's the breakdown.
On November 8, 2022, a single Powerball ticket sold in Altadena, California won $2.04 billion — the largest lottery prize ever. The story involves a one-day delay, a lawsuit, and a near-anonymous winner.
On Christmas 2002, Jack Whittaker won what was then the largest single-ticket jackpot in US history. Within a few years he had been robbed, sued, and buried his granddaughter. He later said he wished he'd torn the ticket up.