A new billionaire appeared in Florida!
The owner of last month’s winning ticket in the Aug. 8 Mega Millions jackpot drawing has finally come forward to claim the $1.602 billion jackpot, officials said Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. The Florida ticket holder had the winning numbers 13, 19, 20, 32 and 33 plus the golden Mega Ball on 14.
Mega Millions officials explained in a press release in August that “strong sales pushed the final jackpot amount well above the previous record of $1.537 billion, won in South Carolina on October 23, 2018.”
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This win marks the fourth time a jackpot winning ticket has been sold in Florida. The ticket was sold at the Publix supermarket in Neptune Beach, the Associated Press writes.
The winner’s identity has not been disclosed due to Florida lottery law, which mandates that the identity of any winner of a prize of $250,000 or more “shall be exempt from public disclosure” for 90 days from the date the prize is claimed.
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Mega Millions lottery tickets in 2007.
Justin Sullivan/Getty
Mega Millions winners have the option to claim their winnings in cash or an annual payout. Lottery officials did not say whether the Florida winner chose a one-time or annual payment.
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The cash option is “a one-time, lump-sum payment equal to the entire amount in the Mega Millions jackpot prize pool.” By choosing a payout, winners are entitled to an initial payout followed by 29 annual payouts. According to Mega Millions, each payout is “5 percent higher than the previous one.”
Following the win, Georgia Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbin, CEO of the Mega Millions Consortium, issued a statement congratulating the Florida Lottery on the sale of the winning ticket.
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“Congratulations to the Florida Lottery for selling the jackpot winning ticket in Tuesday’s $1.602 billion Mega Millions drawing,” the statement said. “Congratulations to our latest jackpot winner, as well as the more than 43.7 million winners at all prize levels during this jackpot series. We also celebrate the funds raised for the many good causes supported by our participating lotteries.”
Another Mega Millions winning ticket was sold in Florida last month. The ticket matched all six numbers in the Aug. 15 drawing — 18, 39, 42, 57 and 63, plus the golden Mega Ball 7 — and won the $39 million prize ($18.9 million in cash), Mega officials said Millions.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education