New York has had more major lottery jackpot wins in recorded history than any other state — with good luck gracing dozens more ticket holders, according to a new study.
Empire State players have kept their eyes on the prize with 55 total wins — the highest in the country — since 1992 followed by Michigan with 46 and Virginia with 41 wins, according to an analysis of U.S. lottery data by Vegas Insider.
“While every ticket carries the same theoretical odds, the data shows that some states consistently produce winners, while others see far fewer major payouts over time,” researchers say in the study.
New York has had more major lottery jackpot winners in recorded history than any other state. New York leads the nation in total winners likely due to its size and long-term participation in the Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries — but has a lower per-capita winning rate than Michigan and Virginia, which have lower populations.
Michigan has 98.4 wins per million residents while Virginia has 100 wins per million residents and New York has 59.6 wins per million, according to the report.
For the study, researchers counted only “grand prize” winners for Powerball and Mega Millions lotteries from official game records, which began when the games launched in 1992 and 1996 respectively.
New York has had 55 major lottery jackpot winners since 1992. LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – stock.adobe.com They also ranked states based on a combination of jackpot wins, yearly frequency, and per-capita success — placing Michigan first, Virginia second and New York third.
California, meanwhile, was ranked no. 4 and Maryland was ranked no. 5
