Curious to see how much you can win by playing lottery syndicates? Let us tell you about the top Mega Millions syndicate winners! They played the lottery together and it made them millionaires. These are their amazing stories:
1. The Speedway Anonymous Winners – $1.337 Billion
On September 21st, 2022 we discovered that the winning ticket of the July 29 draw of the same year was actually owned by not 1, but 2 lucky players!
Indeed, 2 players purchased this winning ticket at a Speedway station in Des Plaines, Illinois. They claimed their prize almost 8 weeks after winning it as they chose to get advice by a team of professional legal and financial advisors for the claiming process.
They also opted for the lump sum payment, which means that they share a jackpot of $780.5 million!
In Illinois, lottery winners of prizes of over $249,999 can opt to remain anonymous, this is why the Illinois Lottery could not share anymore details on these Mega Millions syndicate winners, however, we have heard that they are “over the moon”! We wish them all the best and will conclude with the fact that playing syndicates can really pay off!
2. The Wolverine FLL Club – $1.05 Billion
The second biggest Mega Millions jackpot to date, this historic prize was scooped in January 2021 by a lottery club from Michigan. Although the laws of the state do not allow lottery winners to remain anonymous, the four members of the syndicate found the solution of lottery club to keep their names and lives away from the public eye.
They chose to claim the prize via an attorney. Their option was the lump sum, which reduced the amount from $776 million to $557 million, after taxes. Read more about this lottery club and about the historic jackpot prize they won here.
3. Unnamed California Syndicate – $543 Million
11 co-workers from a finance company in Santa Clara, California became the biggest Mega Millions syndicate winners when they scooped a huge $543 million on July 24th, 2018. When they heard about the big jackpot coming up in the Mega Millions, they decided to make an office pool. “It was spur of the moment”, said Ronald Reyes, one of the members who claimed the prize on behalf of the syndicate.
“Hey, did you hear about the jackpot? We should play.” That turned out to be the best decision they ever took because it made them overnight millionaires. “If I could win, anybody could win. We’re just normal people!”, said Mr. Reyes. So play Mega Millions online and maybe you can beat their record!
4. Peace of Mind Trust Syndicate, Pennsylvania – $516 Million
The third biggest Mega Millions syndicate win was scooped by a five-member group from Pennsylvania. They split the amount of $254,233,980. This was the cash value of the $516 million jackpot won on May 21st, 2021. They claimed the jackpot as cash, lump-sum payment and paid 24% federal and 3.07% state taxes. Pennsylvania Lottery officials did not reveal any details regarding the identity of the winners as they decided to remain anonymous. The only statements made by their attorneys referred to them living “in small communities in eastern Pennsylvania” and explained their wish to keep their identities private by the “desire to keep their lives as normal as possible”.
This was the third time the Mega Millions jackpot went to Pennsylvania since the state joined the game in 2010. When it comes to size, this jackpot stands on top, being the largest Mega Millions jackpot won on a ticket purchased in Pennsylvania.
5. The New Life Syndicate – $437 Million
23 co-workers from Long Island started 2019 with some very good news from the lottery. On January 1st, 2019, they won a Mega Millions jackpot worth 437 million. They had been playing together for a very long time. They would each put one dollar in an envelope and use the money to buy lottery tickets for the Big Three – Mega Millions, US Powerball, and New York Lotto.
It was a Quick Pick ticket that finally brought them their jackpot. After their win, they wanted to stay anonymous and continue working together as a family. They took the cash payout for their jackpot, which was worth $262,2 million before taxes. They plan to move into new homes, travel, and set up college funds for their children, but this is only the beginning.
6. The Albany Seven – $319 Million
In March 2011, 7 co-workers from Albany, New York split a $319 million jackpot. How did they make the top Mega Millions syndicate winners list? Well, all it took was one lucky ticket that they purchased together.
Unlike other office pools, the Albany Seven didn’t buy a large number of tickets for the lottery draws they participated in together. They only bought one ticket per draw, each of them taking turns purchasing the ticket.
This time, it was Mike Barth’s turn to pick up the ticket, so he went into the shop near their office. He was standing in line and he reached down to get a Snickers bar. That’s when the man sitting behind him cut in line and went on to buy a Quick Pick ticket for the Mega Millions.
Mr. Barth didn’t want to make a scene, so he didn’t say anything. He just got his ticket, which was also a Quick Pick, after the impolite man was done. “I’m thinking later on, after all this went down, what if that guy would have won that ticket instead of me,” he said laughingly. It seems that Mr. Barth was at the right place at the right time to win the $319 million!
7. The Three Amigos – $218 Million
The Three Amigos are probably the best-known Mega Millions syndicate winners of all time. Back in 2012, they had one of the three winning tickets for the record-breaking $656 million jackpot, which was the largest lottery prize the world had ever seen.
The picture with the three of them holding the giant cheque wearing gloves and disguises is the stuff of lottery legend. They were thrilled about winning the lottery, but they wanted to remain anonymous.
8. The Manhattan Syndicate – $58 Million
On March 24th, 2015, 16 co-workers from the Ophthotech Corporation, a New York biotech company won a whopping $58 million in the Mega Millions lottery. Their lotto office pool was running since 2010 and they would purchase their tickets from a shop in their building.
After the draw on March 24th, they checked the Mega Millions results and they couldn’t believe their eyes. They kept going “from one person’s computer to another’s checking each person’s scan of the ticket”. They had all the numbers, every time. They chose the lump sum payout for their Mega Millions prize and they each cashed in $1.65 million, after taxes.
Mega Millions Syndicate Winners FAQs
On July 29, 2022, 2 lucky players sharing a ticket won the second largest Mega Millions jackpot worth $1.337 billion! These players from Illinois became the biggest Mega Millions syndicate winners!
The Three Amigos are probably the most famous Mega Millions syndicate. Their story is well-known probably because they scooped the record Mega Millions jackpot at that time.
Now that you know all about the biggest Mega Millions syndicate winners, are you going to try out group play for yourself?
Find out how Mega Millions syndicates work and see just how exciting it can be! Who knows, you could be part of the next group on our list! Good luck!