You love playing the lottery, but at times, you feel like it’s a waste of money.

That is until you read all about some of the biggest payouts. Then, it just seems like bad financial planning to stop playing! After all, you dream of being debt-free.

In this post, you’ll learn all about some of the biggest Powerball payouts of all time. We’ll also tell you about how these lucky winners lives changed after they became Powerball winners.

The stories might not always be what you expect. Read on to see if you agree with how winners of the lottery spend their millions.

1. Mavis L. Wanczyk’s $758.7 million

Let’s start with the current record-holder when it comes to the biggest Powerball payouts of all time.

In August of 2016, Mavis L. Wanczyk was one of three winners of the biggest Powerball jackpot of all time — $1.6 billion in total. She bought her ticket at a tiny gas station in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

One of the first things that she did after winning was quit her job at a medical center in Springfield. Interestingly, that’s not always a common move for a lottery winner.

Contrary to popular belief, many people who win the lottery, even huge winnings, actually keep their jobs — and still aim for that promotion.

Though Mavis now has much more time to relax — and much less anxiety when it comes to her bills — it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. People have actually started pretending to be her on social media en masse, causing her emotional stress.

She’s been stalked and imitated so much that, at one point, policemen even had to park in her driveway for days at a time. Still, Mavis has told reporters that, more than anything else, she’s just been enjoying the time to herself.

After all, when you have millions, you no longer have to worry about saying “no” to any social obligations!

2. Merle and Patricia Butler’s $656 million

Another couple what was lucky enough to have the lottery winning numbers?

Merle and Patricia Butler from Illinois, who took home a piece of a $656 million USA Mega Millions lottery. And they only paid a shocking three dollars for their lottery ticket.

While the Butlers said they had a feeling they’d get lucky, they never in their wildest dreams thought they’d win this much. After realizing he had the winning numbers, Merle stood in complete disbelief.

He was so white when he came into the other room to tell her, she thought something was wrong with him. However, once they realized they’d truly won, they both collapsed into a fit of laughter.

They took the money in a lump sum and smartly tried to keep the fact that they’d won as quiet as possible. They left town and met with money managers — something every lottery winner should do. When people asked if they’d won, they tried to laugh it off and throw them off the scent.

So, despite rumors that the couple had decided to give all of their cash away to “strangers from the Internet,” on an Instagram giveaway? It seems like they’re keeping what they really did with the money quiet.

Read more now to learn about who else has made it big in the Mega Millions. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be the next winner!

3. John and Lisa Robinson’s $533 million

Let’s close by discussing another one of the biggest Powerball winners — the Robinson family from Tennessee. They split a Powerball jackpot that totaled a whopping $1.586 billion with two other couples.

They opted to take the lump sum because they weren’t willing to risk something happening to them before they were able to enjoy the money. They bought their tickets at a grocery store, with John explaining they bought four tickets because they had four children.

No word yet on the amount of cash, if any, that their children got to enjoy.

Though initially, the Robinsons claimed that they were going to be fairly methodical with how they spent the money? It seems that once they got their hands on all that cash, that plan went right out the window.

First, they moved into a seriously lavish mansion. Their new home has an astounding ten bedrooms, a home theatre, and a lot of over 200 acres. However, they have mentioned in interviews that they felt being so public about their winnings, in the beginning, was a mistake.

They said that they did so on the advice of their attorney. However, they didn’t quite realize just how many people would want to get to know them — and ask them for financial favors.

So, if you find yourself winning this kind of money in the future, think about if going public is really the right move!

Now, they’re much more focused on maintaining their privacy. Their neighbors say that many people end up getting curious visitors who want to see the lottery winner’s home.

How Would You Spend These Powerball Payouts?

We know that this reading about all of these Powerball payouts likely has you ready to play the lotto yourself. However, don’t forget about your loved ones.

If you’re looking for the perfect gift for anyone on your list, we think that giving them a lottery ticket is a great move.

Of course, just in case they come away with the lottery winning numbers, you might want to make sure you’ve struck a deal with a percentage of the winnings you’ll get!

Looking for more awesome gift and party ideas? Keep coming back to our blog to get inspired to get giving.