The Biggest Raffle Prizes Ever Won

The biggest raffle prizes ever won are not lottery jackpots — they are custom-built houses, seven-figure cash options, and estates worth millions, handed to people who spent $25 or $100 on a ticket for a children’s hospital or a college foundation. The winners are real, the amounts are documented in charity announcements and local news reports, and the stories rarely end at the moment the ticket is drawn.

Some of the biggest raffle prizes in recent years include a $2.7 million home outside Denver, a $6 million estate in Norfolk, England, and a steady run of $500,000-plus houses given away every summer in Idaho. What happened next varies a lot: one winner waited more than a year for the keys, another said he expects to sell and pay the tax bill, and roughly seven in ten St. Jude Dream Home winners sell the house they won.

Here is the verified record of the biggest raffle prizes on the books, drawn from charity announcements, BBC reporting, and local newspapers — including the part most articles skip, which is what the win actually looked like six months later.

The biggest raffle prizes usually come as houses, not cash

Charity raffles built around a grand-prize home have become the standard format in the US, and they are where the biggest raffle prizes tend to land. A hospital or foundation partners with a builder, the house is constructed and furnished, and ticket sales fund the cause. The winner gets a deed instead of a check.

That structure explains why the headline numbers keep climbing. A cash prize is limited by ticket revenue. A donated or heavily discounted house lets an organization advertise a number in the millions while still clearing a profit for the charity.

A $2.7 million Colorado home — with $875,000 attached

According to the Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation, the 2024 Mighty Millions Raffle grand prize went to a winner identified as Thomas S., who received a custom-built home in Sedalia, Colorado valued at $2.7 million. The prize package also included $875,000 in bonus cash specifically intended to help cover the taxes.

That bonus-cash design is worth noticing, because it addresses the single biggest problem with house prizes. The foundation announced the following year that its 2025 grand prize, a $2.4 million home in Winter Park, went to a winner identified as Pete H., described as a supporter who had entered the raffle for ten straight years.

The foundation reported the raffle raises roughly $2 million a year for the hospital. Both winners were announced publicly by the foundation itself rather than by a third party, which is the cleanest kind of source you can get for a prize claim.

When the biggest raffle prizes come with complications

The £6 million Norfolk estate won through Omaze’s partnership with Comic Relief is the clearest example of what can go sideways. As reported by the BBC, winner Vicky Curtis-Cresswell of South Wales was drawn in March but was not given the keys for more than a year.

An anonymous member of the public had contacted North Norfolk District Council with concerns that the house had not been built to its approved designs. BBC reporting indicated the property was larger than plans specified, and that a swimming pool, tennis court, garage, and summer house lacked planning consent.

The council eventually approved a retrospective planning application, and Omaze said the home was ready for handover. The draw itself raised more than £4 million for Comic Relief. Nobody was accused of wrongdoing by the council — the paperwork simply had to catch up to the building.

The $575,000 house the winner expects to sell

North Idaho College’s Foundation has run its Really BIG Raffle for more than three decades, and the 2026 grand prize shows what a mid-size version of the biggest raffle prizes looks like in practice. The Coeur d’Alene Press reported that Bill Hughes of Coeur d’Alene won a newly built house appraised at $575,000, drawn in a livestreamed event on July 8, 2026.

Hughes told the paper he expects to sell it. In his words to the Press, he thinks they will “end up selling it, pay the taxes, and then just have the extra money” for things they had put off. He also said he would likely share some of the proceeds with family.

Earlier years followed similar patterns. The same paper reported Jamie Morgan won a $590,000 home in the 2023 draw, and that Megan Howard won a house appraised at $630,000 in 2024.

Why so many winners sell

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which runs the best-known house raffle in the country, has said roughly 70% of its Dream Home winners sell the house. That figure has been cited in local reporting on the program for years, and the reasons winners give are consistent and mundane.

A Mount Washington, Kentucky winner told the Pioneer News she decided to sell because, between interest rates and property taxes, she could not afford to carry two houses. She won a home; she did not win the ability to run two households.

Location matters too. A prize house sits where the builder put it, which may be four hours from a winner’s job, school district, or aging parents.

How the biggest raffle prizes are taxed in the US

This is the part that shapes almost every aftermath story. Under IRS rules, prizes are income. IRS Publication 525 states that if you win a prize in a lucky number drawing or similar event, you must include it in your income, and if the prize is goods rather than cash, you include the fair market value.

IRS Topic No. 419 specifically lists raffles as gambling income and confirms that it includes the fair market value of non-cash prizes such as cars and trips. Winners typically receive tax paperwork from the organization and report the value for the year they won it.

The withholding rate applied to winnings of $5,000 or more from sweepstakes, wagering pools, and lotteries is 24% under the IRS instructions for Form W-2G. How that interacts with any individual’s return depends entirely on their own situation, and the IRS is the authority on their case.

If you receive benefits such as SSI, SNAP, Medicaid, or Section 8, reporting requirements generally apply to income and assets, and how a prize is treated depends on the specific program and your circumstances. The agency administering your benefits is the only place that can tell you how it applies to you.

What winners can learn from this

The documented record points to a few consistent patterns. The biggest raffle prizes are almost always real property, and the value assigned to that property is what tax rules key off — not what the winner ultimately sells it for.

Timing gaps are normal. The Norfolk case took over a year from draw to handover because of a planning dispute the winner had no part in creating.

Selling is common, not a failure. When roughly 70% of St. Jude winners sell, and an Idaho winner says publicly that he plans to, that is the majority outcome rather than the exception. And some organizers now build cash into the package — Children’s Hospital Colorado’s $875,000 tax allowance being the clearest example among the biggest raffle prizes on record.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the biggest raffle prizes ever awarded?

Among verified charity draws, the largest include the £6 million Norfolk estate won through Omaze and Comic Relief, and the $2.7 million Sedalia, Colorado home awarded by the Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation in 2024. Prize sizes vary widely by organizer and year.

Do you pay taxes on a raffle house?

Yes. IRS Publication 525 treats prizes as taxable income, and Topic No. 419 lists raffles as gambling income including the fair market value of non-cash prizes. How much you owe depends on your own return, so the IRS or a qualified professional is the right source for your situation.

Can you take cash instead of the house?

Sometimes. Some raffles offer a cash alternative in their official rules — Ronald McDonald House Charities San Diego, for example, has published a grand prize structure with a home, an annuity, or a cash option. The official rules for each specific raffle govern what is available.

What happens if a raffle doesn’t sell enough tickets?

Many raffles include a rule allowing a reduced cash prize instead of the advertised property if minimum ticket sales are not reached. That contingency is written into the official rules, which is why reading them before entering tells you what you would actually receive.

Know the Rules Where You Live

Sweepstakes and prize rules change from state to state — what a sponsor can offer, how prizes are handled, and what protections you have. Pick your state to see the exact rules that apply where you live.

See Sweepstakes Laws in All 50 States →

Sources & How to Verify

The facts on this page are drawn from official government and primary sources. Rules and figures change, so always confirm the current details with the official agency or the promotion’s own published rules.

• FTC Consumer Advice: consumer.ftc.gov — prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scam guidance
• IRS: irs.gov — how prizes and winnings are treated as income
• Social Security Administration: ssa.gov — what SSI recipients must report
• The promotion’s official rules: every legitimate sweepstakes publishes them — the rules page is always the final word

Content last reviewed August 2026. If you notice outdated information, please contact us.

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Informational only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Win Big Daily is an independent educational resource. Prize rules, tax treatment, and benefit-program requirements vary by state and program and change over time, so always verify the current details with the official agency, the promotion’s published rules, or a qualified professional before acting. If a topic involves government benefits, contact the program office about your specific situation.