Someone in South Carolina has a winning ticket for a Mega Millions lottery prize of $1.6 billion.
That’s according to the South Carolina Education Lottery, which said a single ticket for the record-shattering prize had been sold in the state.
Coverage of the Mega Millions lottery on Globalnews.ca:
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With Mega Millions and Powerball totaling more than $2B, lottery fever spikes in U.S. -
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U.S. Mega Millions lottery hits record $1.6 billion after no winners on Friday -
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Mega Millions draw reaches $1.6B jackpot after no winner selected -
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Mega Millions lottery buyers say what they’ll do if they win $1 billion jackpot -
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Mega Millions jackpot reaches $1B
The $1.6-billion prize is the biggest ever.
The winning numbers were 5, 28, 62, 65, 70, with a Megaball number of 5.
Odds of winning the prize were 1 in 302 million.
READ MORE: Here are the best and worst states to win the $1.6B Mega Millions lottery jackpot
Of course, whoever wins the prize won’t be able to turn in a ticket and be handed $1 billion in cash.
There are two ways you can take the money — in a lump sum payment, or in an annuity that’s paid to you in installments, CNBC reported.
The winner will only be able to collect a lump sum payment of $904 million, while the annuity is paid in 30 installments.
In either case, the prize is subject to a tax withholding of 24 per cent.
Then, it could be subject to further taxation such as state taxes, so much that your final cash prize could be anywhere between $489.8 million and $569.6 million, according to CNBC.
Josh Barro at New York Magazine recommended that any winner take the annuity for a number of reasons.
One is that it provides “big tax advantages”; another that it’s a great way to ensure you can take the money in 30 annual instalments that will “help you remain rich” for the rest of your life, instead of just taking it all at once.
- With files from AP
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