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Miami-based Saltines Holdings LLC has won the largest Mega Millions prize ever

A Publix in Neptune Beach, Florida, sold $1.58 billion worth of Mega Millions winning tickets. The total was nearly $800 million in cash.

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  • Edwin Castro won the record Powerball lottery jackpot of $2.04 billion in November 2022.
  • Edwin Castro claimed his one-time payout of his $2.04 billion Powerball prize on Valentine's Day 2023.
  • In Florida, Mega Millions and Powerball grand prize winners have 60 days to claim their cash payout or 6 months to claim their annual payout in person at lottery headquarters.

For at least one LLC in Florida, August 8th is an important date.

On August 8, 2023 someone won the $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot after purchasing a ticket at a Publix in Neptune Beach, Florida. As of August 8, 2024, this jackpot is the fourth-largest lottery win in U.S. history (see below) and the largest Mega Millions lottery payout overall.

After the last sales, the total top prize was $1.602 billion, or $794.2 million in cash. So… who won the $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot? That's still unknown a year later.

Keep scrolling for information on the Mega Millions and Powerball billion dollar jackpots for August 8, 2023, the top 10 biggest lottery prizes of all time, and other information on winning a billion dollar prize in the Florida Lottery.

Who won the $1.58 billion lottery jackpot on August 8?

According to the Florida Lottery, Saltines Holdings LLC of Miami won the billion-dollar prize on Sept. 25, 2023, after its ticket from a Publix grocery store in Neptune Beach, near Jacksonville, matched all five numbers plus the Mega Ball in the Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, drawing. In case you're wondering, the Mega Millions winning numbers were 13-19-20-32-33 and the Mega Ball was 14. Megaplier was 2x. There was also a second category winner from Florida in that drawing: A ticket from Kwik Stop in Hollywood matched five numbers and won $1 million.

When Saltines Holdings LLC claimed the prize in September, it was not known if it was a lump sum or if payments would be made annually. Under Florida Lottery rules, the winner has a limited amount of time to claim winnings of this size in person at lottery headquarters.

Interestingly, two weeks before Saltines Holdings LLC won the $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot, Yanira Alvarez of California won the $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot. The winning ticket came from the Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles. Alvarez, who opted for the one-time total of $558.1 million before federal taxes, politely declined to make any public comment, according to the California Lottery.

It was the first time in history that Mega Millions And At the same time, the Powerball had a jackpot in the billions.

In Florida and California, the identities of lottery winners are public knowledge. But in Florida, there are ways for winners to remain anonymous, lottery experts say.

Most successful lottery winner of all time? A man from Florida won 7 jackpots in his life. How he did it

How long do you have to claim a Florida Lottery prize?

Florida Lottery winnings must be claimed within 180 days (six months) of the drawing date or the ticket will expire. This is different from other states – in California, winners have up to one year from the drawing date to claim a lottery jackpot, whether it's the cash option or 30 annual payments. In Florida, a winner has the first 60 days of the applicable drawing date to claim a cash option.

Can a lottery winner in Florida remain anonymous?

Saltines Holdings LLC, the $1.58 billion Mega Millions winner, had a limited amount of time to remain anonymous in Florida. Under Florida Lottery rules, the identities of winners are public knowledge, although lottery lawyers and experts have said there are ways to remain anonymous.

One option is to not sign the back of the ticket and instead set up a trust or corporation like Saltines Holdings LLC. But in other states like California, where the identities of lottery winners are also public knowledge, different rules apply: “California Lottery regulations do not allow trusts to collect lottery winnings. Only the owner of the ticket can claim a prize,” a California Lottery spokesperson said in an email to USA TODAY.

Do stores that sell Mega Millions and Powerball lottery winnings get a commission?

Stores in Florida that are allowed to sell Mega Millions and Powerball lottery tickets are entitled to a bonus commission if they sold the winning ticket. The amount varies by state. In Florida, the amount was $100,000. The Neptune Beach Publix received a $100,000 bonus commission for selling the winning ticket for the $1.58 billion Mega Millions prize.

In California, stores that sell winning tickets in the Mega Millions and Powerball lotteries receive a commission. In the $1.08 billion Powerball drawing, Las Palmitas Mini Market received $1 million for selling the winning ticket to Yanira Alvarez.

One in a billion? 2 Publix stores in Florida share in the largest Powerball and Mega Millions prizes ever

How many times have the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots reached a billion dollars or more?

As of August 8, 2024, there have been 11 lottery jackpots that have reached or exceeded $1 billion.

  1. $2.04 billion Powerball prize, November 7, 2022, Edwin Castro of Altadena, California
  2. $1.765 billion Powerball prize, October 11, 2023, Theodorus Struyck of California
  3. $1.586 billion Powerball prize, January 13, 2016, Marvin and Mae Acosta of California, Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt of Melbourne Beach, Florida, and John and Lisa Robinson of Munford, Tennessee
  4. $1.58 billion Mega Millions prize, August 8, 2023, Saltines Holdings LLC of Miami, Florida
  5. $1.537 billion Mega Millions prize, October 23, 2018, won by an anonymous player in South Carolina
  6. $1.348 billion Mega Millions win, January 13, 2023, LaKoma Island Investments, LLC, with ticket purchased in Lebanon, Maine
  7. $1.337 billion Mega Millions prize, July 29, 2022, won by an anonymous partnership with a ticket purchased in Des Plaines, Illinois
  8. $1.326 billion Powerball prize, April 6, 2024, Cheng and Duanpen Saephan and Laiza Chao of Oregon
  9. $1.128 billion Mega Millions prize, March 26, 2024, won by an anonymous winner in New Jersey using the ticket purchased at ShopRite Liquor No. 781 in Neptune Township, New Jersey
  10. $1.08 billion Powerball prize, July 19, 2023, Yanira Alvarez of California
  11. $1.050 billion Mega Millions prize, January 22, 2021, won by Wolverine FLL Club of Oakland County, Michigan

Sangalang is a senior digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Þjórsárdalur or on Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider a subscription to a Florida newspaper.

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