Lottery News

A piece of breaking news for our lottery players!

The deadline for claiming the record-breaking $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot drawn in July is soon approaching for Illinois-based lottery winner!

The one and only winner of the unimaginable $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot is just a few weeks away from claiming the Grand Sum Of Money that is possibly set to change their lives. 

In early August, the  Illinois Lottery Director Harold Mays said, "For a prize of this magnitude, it's not unusual for winners to some time to claim."

A Mega Millions winner in Illinois gets one year from the date of drawing to claim their prize, but only for claiming the money as an annuity. The prize can be claimed as a lump sum within a period of 60 days only.

The date to claim the jackpot as a lump sum and walk home as a billionaire, is September 27, 2022. If nobody steps forward by then, the prize will automatically shift to the annuity option. According to The Lottery Lab's tax calculator, the cash option is worth an approximate value of  $780.5 million, whereas after federal and state tax deductions the total take-home value in Illinois comes to $453.12 million.

There are a few advantages to claiming the lottery prize either as a lump sum or annuity depending upon the winner's preference and situation. The cash option is taxed much more than you receive the annuity prize, however, you get to receive a massive amount of money at that particular moment as compared to annual payments distributed over 29 years. 

So, those people who feel they could be overwhelmed by the sudden influx of such an unimaginable amount of wealth might opt for the annuity option to ease the pressure of planning the expenses, gifts, investments, etc. 

Bradley also recommends to the players that even if they choose the annuity option there should always be a plan for the time when 29 years of payments are up! 

The Mega Millions jackpot worth $1.337 billion was sold at Speedway #4250, located at 885 E. Touhy Ave. in Des Plaines.

One biggest aspect of winning this big jackpot in the state of Illinois is that the winner does not have to worry about revealing their identity. It's like you won't even know the winner's name at all, because the Illinois lottery allows its winners to remain anonymous for prizes of $250,000 or above.

In a press release, Mess stated, "We will work closely with the winner to respect the wishes for the winner for privacy and support in any way to provide a positive lottery winning experience.

If you want to know more about the lottery prize payouts option, tap here to get full information.