Powerball · United States · 27 October 2018
West bought an easy-pick (quick pick) Powerball ticket at the Casey's at 425 Second Street in Redfield, Iowa, shortly after moving into a newly bought house in the town. The ticket then slipped out of her purse onto the floor of her sister's pickup truck.
Advertised prize
$343,900,000
Cash value $198,100,000
Ticket
Quick pick
Outcome
Gave it away
Gave away most or all of the prize.
Lerynne West, 51, had just bought a house in Redfield, Iowa - a Dallas County town of about 830 people - when she picked up an easy-pick Powerball ticket at the Casey's at 425 Second Street. The October 27, 2018 drawing produced a $687.8 million jackpot split by two tickets; hers was worth $343.9 million, the largest lottery prize in Iowa history. She nearly lost it. The ticket slid out of her purse onto the floor of her sister's pickup; when a friend texted to ask whether she had won, West could not find it, and only confirmed the match after her sister located it and sent a photo. West took the lump sum of $198.1 million; after federal withholding of $47.5 million and state withholding of $9.9 million she received $140.6 million. A single mother of three and a grandmother, she announced the Callum Foundation, named for a grandson born prematurely in April who lived one day, to make grants in poverty and hunger, education, animal welfare and veterans' affairs. Its first publicly announced gift, in November 2018, was $500,000 to the Maine-based Travis Mills Foundation, which runs programs for wounded veterans; West's father served in Vietnam and three of her brothers served.
As of 2026 the Callum Foundation remains her stated giving vehicle, and the Iowa Lottery's official winner list still shows her $343.9 million prize as the largest in the lottery's history. Her most recent widely documented gift remains the $500,000 to the Travis Mills Foundation announced in November 2018.
One detail worth keeping
She learned she had won while the ticket was lost - it had fallen out of her purse onto the floor of her sister's pickup truck.
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: 2026-09-13