Cash For Life Winners
Cash for Life makes tens of thousands of winners every day, with some players lucky enough to land prizes that add up to millions of dollars over the course of a lifetime. Find out how many of the biggest winners have come from each of the 10 participating states.
Number of 1st and 2nd Annuity Prize winners in each state
Figures last updated: 04/14/2025
To date, the state with the most Cash For Life Top Prize winners is New York with 27 , while Indiana has had the fewest (0)
| State | $1,000 A Day For Life Winners | $1,000 A Week For Life Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 9 | 31 |
| Georgia | 3 | 8 |
| Indiana | 0 | 1 |
| Maryland | 3 | 10 |
| Missouri | 1 | 4 |
| New Jersey | 4 | 26 |
| New York | 27 | 66 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 11 |
| Tennessee | 4 | 6 |
| Virginia | 3 | 16 |
Winner Stories
While many states allow winners to stay anonymous, there is at least one player behind every big payout who can thank Cash for Life for giving them riches beyond their wildest dreams. Here are just a few of the winner stories.
Robert Goldup (New York) - September 19, 2023
The top two prizes in Cash for Life are fixed, but one man from New York still stands out as probably the game’s biggest-ever winner. Schenectady resident Robert Goldup decided to play the same main numbers on four lines, using a different Cash Ball alongside each one. It paid out off handsomely as he not only won the jackpot, but also won three lots of the second prize.
He took the cash option, giving him one payout of $7 million and three payouts of $1 million. After taxes, he received a one-time lump sum of $6.4 million. Goldup had purchased his winning ticket at Speedway, 1911 Curry Road in Rotterdam.
Anonymous (Maryland) - February 8, 2023
A military veteran from Maryland declared that he was ready to retire after winning the top prize of $1,000 a day for life with a ticket he had bought at Chadwick Liquors, 7005 Security Boulevard in Woodlawn.
He decided to stay anonymous and picked up his massive check under the name ‘Lucky Winner’. He had not told his wife at the time he came forward to claim his prize and said he would have to tell her to ‘keep it low-key’. Speaking of his plans for the money, he said he would do lots of traveling and also give 10 percent of the winnings to his church.
Anonymous (New Jersey) - April 18, 2024
Overcoming the odds to win one of the top prizes in Cash for Life could be described as ‘miraculous’, and the New Jersey player who landed $1,000 a week in this draw had actually received a message inside a fortune cookie a few days earlier that read ‘Believe in Miracles’. It was the first thing he thought of when he discovered his big win.
The winner had used a lottery courier to order his ticket, so he was able to just do it on his phone rather than go to a store. He also received a notification to inform him of his win. He opted to take the prize as a lump sum of $1 million.