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Posted: Monday, Mar 11,2019 | Time: 06:31 am | Edited by: The Lottery Lab Staff
The winner of the biggest jackpot ever won single-handedly finally decided to come out. The Mega Millions jackpot worth $1.537 billion made headlines on Oct 23, 2019, when lottery officials confirmed that there is a winner. But to this date, no one came forward to claim the huge winnings. The winning ticket was purchased at the KC Mart in Simpsonville, South Carolina- one of a few states that allow anonymous lottery claims.
The mystery is over-Partly. On Monday, a lottery official announced that a South Carolina resident had stepped forward to claim the $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot from last October and opted to remain anonymous. The person won the largest jackpot and chose a lump sum cash option to cash out their winnings, as stated in an official lottery commission statement. The estimated lump sum cash is nearly $878,000,000.
Although the biggest jackpot ever won was worth $1.587 billion Powerball prize won on Jan 13, 2016, but was split winning three winning tickets. The mystery winner of the $1.5 billion prize money is the only winner of this humongous amount.
South Carolina is one of a few states where winners can claim their prizes without revealing their name-a choice that winners often make in order to protect their identities from being targeted by unscrupulous people seeking money and people with criminal intentions. The store owner, Chirag Patel, an Indian immigrant is very excited because he also got a $50,000 payment for selling the winning ticket-which he would’ve missed if the prize money went unclaimed. When he was asked what he thinks about why the winner took so long to claim his/her winnings, he said, “That’s a lot of money to manage.” The winner must be deciding what to do with that kind of riches.
Read: How Much Can You Buy With the $1.6 Billion Mega Millions Jackpot?
In case the winner had failed to claim their winnings, the money would have gone back to the 44 states where the Mega Millions tickets are sold.
“Bonus read: What Happens If No One Claims the $1.6 Billion Mega Millions Jackpot?”
There were various theories about why the winner hasn’t come forward yet. Some were saying that the winner was so overwhelmed that he/she died on the spot after seeing the winning numbers popped up. There were assumptions that the winning ticket had been purchased by an office pool and was now the subject of litigation.
The winner will benefit the state as well because they will pay about $61 million of state taxes. It could also be passed along to taxpayers if a proposal goes through to give a $50 rebate to each person who files income taxes. Lottery commissions confirmed that the winner is South Carolinian which means they might donate some of the money for good deeds. However, the good news is that the largest jackpot ever has been claimed and will eventually be handed out to the deserving one.
Bonus Read: A Lottery Winner’s Basic Guide to State Income Taxes
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