Virginia's 7 Biggest Payouts For Mega Millions

VIRGINIA – The combined winnings for the Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots this weekend have reached over half a billion dollars. The Mega Millions jackpot, initially estimated to be $422 million, jumped by $11 million on Friday, July 20.

The Mega Millions drawing takes place Friday at 11 p.m. Tickets are $2 apiece, and the jackpot is $433 million.

The Virginia Lottery's largest lottery payout of all time went to J. R. and Peggy Triplett of Winchester, who hit the $239 million Mega Millions jackpot on Feb. 20, 2004.

In the months that followed, the 69-year-old truck driver told The Washington Post the first purchase he and his wife made was a tombstone for a childhood friend of his who had died and couldn't afford one. "I was raised up poor, but he was poorer than me," J.R. Triplett said of his friend, who had died 25 years before.

What would be your first purchase if you won the lottery? Tell us in the comments!

Find a retailer for Mega Millions and Powerball tickets near you through the Virginia Lottery or the DC Lottery.

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Patch will update this article with the winning Mega Millions numbers. The jackpot is the sixth largest in Mega Millions history.

Biggest Mega Millions Payouts In Virginia

Here are the top seven Virginia Mega Millions winners, according to Virginia Lottery officials:

• $239 millions won by J. R. and Peggy Triplett of Winchester. They took the cash option of $141.5 million after purchasing their Mega Millions ticket in Red Apple in Stephens City.
• $200 million won on Oct. 16, 2009, by Steve Williams of Shenandoah. He took the cash option of $125 million from the ticket bought at Valley’s at 601 4th Street in Shenandoah.
• $107 million won on July 1, 2011, by Brian McCarthy of McLean. He took the cash option of $68.4 million after purchasing his ticket at Giant at 1228 Elden Street in Herndon.
• $82.5 million won on Aug. 31, 2007, by Tucker Adcock of Buckingham and Bernard Adcock of Appomattox. They chose annual payments from their winning ticket, which they bought at Duck’s Corner Food & Gas in Buckingham.
• $75.6 million won May 1, 2009, by Joe Denette of Spotsylvania County. He took the cash option of $47.8 million from the ticket, purchased at Joyful Convenience Market in Woodford.
• $44 million won on May 29, 2007, by Kimberly Swanson of Richmond and Dan Franks of St. Petersburg, Florida. They took the cash option of $24 million from the ticket, bought at E & C Enterprises in Henrico.
• $19 million won on May 15, 2009, by Joe and Susan Claffey of Rappahannock County. They took the cash option of $11.5 million from the ticket, bought at Martin’s Food Market in Front Royal.

If you don't win the $433 million Mega Millions prize, you could still get lucky in Powerball on Saturday. The Powerball jackpot this weekend is $130,000,000.

Powerball drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Eastern time.

Recently, a Virginia woman won $1 million playing Powerball. Monica Powers of Richmond found herself $1 million richer in May, according to Virginia Lottery officials, who shared a photo of her posing with a sign that said: "I love VA. Thank you for a million reasons to love it even more."

— By Patch editors Feroze Dhanoa and Elizabeth Janney

Photo of the 2011 lottery winner via McLean Patch.