COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A new drawing on Friday for the Mega Millions lottery in Ohio will make it one of the biggest jackpots in the game’s history, but even past winners’ paychecks would be sizeable when adjusted for inflation.
The very first lottery winner in Ohio, Omar Watts, earned just $1 million as his prize in 1974. But 48 years later, adjusted for today’s dollar value with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator, that prize would be worth $6,358,605.15 in 2022.
Mega Millions, which has players gamble for prizes across the nation, is just one of multiple games that the Ohio Lottery oversees in the state. Read below for a list of the 10 biggest payouts in the state from the Ohio Lottery’s winning numbers records. Each shows how much buying power the past prize would have now, and how much an equal prize would be in the present day.
December 17, 2019 – $372 million
- The prize was from Mega Millions
- The winning ticket was sold in Mentor
- Buying power after inflation: $316,248,637.09
- Equal value adjusted for inflation: $431,154,601.67
- Rate of inflation from then to now: 15.9%
February 28, 2006 – $267 million
- The prize was from Mega Millions
- The winning ticket was sold in Toledo
- Buying power after inflation: $176,452,322.96
- Equal value adjusted for inflation: $392,435,699.40
- Rate of inflation from then to now: 47%
April 18, 2006 – $265 million
- The prize was from Mega Millions
- The winning ticket was sold in Cincinnati
- Buying power after inflation: $175,130,582.72
- Equal value adjusted for inflation: $389,496,106.15
- Rate of inflation from then to now: 47%
June 2, 2010 – $260 million
- The prize was from Powerball
- The winning ticket was sold in Columbus
- Buying power after inflation: $188,751,082.34
- Equal value adjusted for inflation: $353,307,682.43
- Rate of inflation from then to now: 35.9%
December 12, 2008 – $207 million
- The payouts pooled altogether were from Mega Millions
- Multiple winning tickets were sold in Piqua
- Buying power after inflation: $145,235,042.74
- Equal value adjusted for inflation: $284,883,986.75
- Rate of inflation from then to now: 37.6%
May 16, 2008 – $196 million
- The prize was from Mega Millions
- The winning ticket was sold in Cincinnati
- Buyer power after inflation: $137,517,238.53
- Equal value adjusted for inflation: $269,745,224.17
- Rate of inflation from then to now: 37.6%
July 22, 2005 – $170 million
- The payouts pooled altogether were from Mega Millions
- Multiple winning tickets were sold in Cleveland
- Buying power after inflation: $108,666,306.52
- Equal value adjusted for inflation: $257,925,601.64
- Rate of inflation from then to now: 51.7%
December 30, 2003 – $155 million
- The prize was from Mega Millions
- The winning ticket was sold in Cleveland
- Buying power after inflation: $94,357,680.95
- Equal value adjusted for inflation: $249,609,809.78
- Rate of inflation from then to now: 61%
July 9, 2014 – $122 million
- The prize was from Powerball
- The winning ticket was sold in Conneaut
- Buying power after inflation: $96,172,174.46
- Equal value adjusted for inflation: $152,701,498.72
- Rate of inflation from then to now: 25.2%
June 3, 2005 – $106 million
- The prize was from Mega Millions
- The winning ticket was sold in Cleveland
- Buying power after inflation: $67,756,638.18
- Equal value adjusted for inflation: $139,633,260.57
- Rate of inflation from then to now: 31.7%