What Have Been The Biggest Pick 4 Payouts?

Pick 4 might not offer multimillion-dollar jackpots like some other lotteries, but payouts can still be incredible when popular number combinations are drawn. Find out about some of the instances when the total prize fund has soared way above the normal level.

It usually happens when lots of players select four of the same digit – known as a ‘Quad’ – such as 1-1-1-1 or 2-2-2-2. If a Quad is drawn, there are significantly more winners than usual.

$12 Million Won in North Carolina

In the North Carolina Pick 4 Midday draw on January 12, 2025, there were an astonishing 3,151 winners, up from the typical number of 300 to 400. The reason? The numbers drawn were 8-8-8-8.

If you play an Exact Order (Straight) wager in NC, the return is 5,000 times your stake, just like in most other Pick 4 states. This left everyone who had wagered $0.50 with a very tidy sum of $2,500, while those who put down $1 received twice as much – an impressive $5,000. It is one of the most innovative features of Pick 4 that you can decide on your own wager amount – the more you put down, the more you can win. One player, Abdellatif Tlili, even purchased 20 tickets with the same number to win even more.

Lucky 4s in South Carolina

It paid to pick 4-4-4-4 in South Carolina in 2024, as the Quad came up three times throughout the year. When the Midday draw on November 16, 2024 generated a straight run of 4s, the Fireball also turned out to be 4 as well, creating even more winners!

The total payout for this draw added up to $6.5 million, split out between more than 3,200 lucky ticket holders. If there were this many winners of a jackpot in another game, it would severely dent everyone’s share of the cash. Pick 4 works differently, though, and prize amounts are always fixed, so it is just the total payout that increases.

Michigan Lottery Pays Out $5 Million

The odds of winning a Straight play in Pick 4 are 1 in 10,000, so don’t just think that your numbers will come up eventually – you might be waiting a long time and there’s no guarantee it will ever happen. In Michigan, the numbers 0-0-0-0 had never been drawn in Daily 4 from when the game launched in October 1981, until the zeroes all came together on September 17, 2017.

A total of 1,079 players won $5,000 apiece for matching all the numbers, making it an expensive pay day for the Michigan Lottery as it added up to more than $5 million in prize money.

Big Wins in Virginia

Virginia Pick 4 has proved to be a very profitable game for lots of players in the Old Dominion, including the man who won $1 million after buying 200 identical tickets, and another draw when the payout totalled $8.98 million after 8-8-8-8 was selected. Find out more about the biggest wins in Virginia.

Prize Limits

There have been some extraordinary days in Pick 4 across the U.S. when the right set of numbers have been drawn for lots of players, but state lotteries also have to protect themselves from being in a position where there are too many winners to actually pay out. Most states include a liability limit, when they can suspend ticket sales on particular number combinations once they reach a set amount. This ensures that everyone will still be paid the advertised prize, but can mean that if you leave it too late to play you might not be able to pick your favorite number.

Whether you want to play a Quad in an upcoming draw or go with a different strategy, make sure you don’t miss out on the chance to land a great prize.