The largest number of winners for a single draw in America was the Mega Millions draw on August 31, 2007, with a jackpot of $330 million which was split among four winning tickets.
This gave each player $82,500,000 each before taxes, the amount depending on whether they selected a quarter share of the full cash prize or the $194.4 million annuity.
In 2007, the annuity option for Mega Millions jackpot winners was paid out over 26 years. Winners who chose the annuity received their jackpot in annual payments that increased by a percentage each year, typically to help manage the impact of inflation. This format of gradually increasing payments is known as a "graduated annuity."
The winning tickets were purchased in Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia.
Each of these tickets matched all six numbers drawn: 8-18-22-40-44 and Mega Ball 11.
The next largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history was a Mega Millions on March 30, 2012. This $656 million jackpot was split by three tickets that matched all six numbers: 2-4-23-38-46 and the Mega Ball 23. Those tickets were bought in Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland.
A more recent large jackpot was the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot in January 2016. That jackpot was split among three tickets from California, Florida, and Tennessee.
