Powerball · United States · 25 August 2001
Edwards borrowed money from a friend to get his water turned back on and spent $7 on Powerball tickets at Clark's Pump-N-Shop in Ashland, Kentucky, for the 25 August 2001 draw. His was one of four jackpot-winning tickets (sold in Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota and New Hampshire).
Advertised prize
$295,000,000
Cash value $41,000,000
Ticket
Not documented
Outcome
Ended in tragedy
The win was followed by a death or a violent crime.
The Powerball draw of Saturday 25 August 2001 carried an advertised jackpot of $295 million with a cash value of $165.8 million, and four tickets matched all six numbers. One belonged to David Lee Edwards, 46, of Ashland, Kentucky, who had been laid off from installing fibre-optic cable, was awaiting his last unemployment cheque, needed back surgery without insurance and had a 1981 robbery conviction. He took his quarter share as a lump sum of about $41 million, roughly $27 million after taxes, and told reporters, "It's a poor man's dream." He married girlfriend Shawna Maddux and within a year had spent about $12 million on a Palm Beach mansion, a Lamborghini Diablo, a Bentley and Ferrari, a $1.7 million Learjet, racehorses, a $178,000 diamond ring and a $78,000 watch. Drug addiction followed; the couple were later living in a storage unit, from which he was evicted in summer 2007, and his collectibles were auctioned for $160,000. He returned to Ashland in 2007 in poor health. Edwards died on 30 November 2013 at the Community Hospice Care Center in Ashland, aged 58, penniless.
Edwards died on 30 November 2013 at Community Hospice Care Center in Ashland, Kentucky, aged 58; the December 2013 CNHI report and his funeral-home obituary describe him as penniless at death.
One detail worth keeping
He bought the $7 of winning tickets with money borrowed to get his water reconnected, and had burned through about $12 million of the $27 million within a year.
Cheng 'Charlie' Saephan
Ended in tragedyPowerball · United States · 2024
$1,326,000,000
Laiza Chao joked to the Saephans before the draw that they were already "billionaires"; her $100 stake in a 20-ticket batch made it true.
Theodorus Struyck
Stayed privatePowerball · United States · 2023
$1,765,000,000
He bought the second-largest winning ticket in Powerball history about 500 yards from his own front door, at a cabin he had paid $90,000 for in 2010.
Edwin Castro
Went wellPowerball · United States · 2022
$2,040,000,000
The draw ran a day late: Minnesota's sales-verification system held up all 48 lotteries, so the $2.04bn numbers were drawn at 8:57 a.m. ET on 8 November 2022.
Manuel Franco
Stayed privatePowerball · United States · 2019
$768,400,000
He told reporters he had under $1,000 in his bank account when he spent $10 on the quick picks that won $768.4 million.
Cheng 'Charlie' Saephan
Ended in tragedyPowerball · United States · 2024
$1,326,000,000
Laiza Chao joked to the Saephans before the draw that they were already "billionaires"; her $100 stake in a 20-ticket batch made it true.
Theodorus Struyck
Stayed privatePowerball · United States · 2023
$1,765,000,000
He bought the second-largest winning ticket in Powerball history about 500 yards from his own front door, at a cabin he had paid $90,000 for in 2010.
Saltines Holdings, LLC (Miami, Florida)
Stayed privateMega Millions · United States · 2023
$1,602,000,000
The biggest Mega Millions winner in history is a company: Saltines Holdings, LLC of Miami. The Publix that sold the $2 Quick Pick collected a $100,000 retailer bonus.
Edwin Castro
Went wellPowerball · United States · 2022
$2,040,000,000
The draw ran a day late: Minnesota's sales-verification system held up all 48 lotteries, so the $2.04bn numbers were drawn at 8:57 a.m. ET on 8 November 2022.
Every figure and quotation above comes from these.
Last verified: 2026-09-12