Topline
The winner of a $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot was claimed in Florida on Wednesday, more than a month after the lottery announced a lucky ticket holder won the jackpot, the third-biggest ever in the U.S., though the winner will take home less than a third of that after taxes are deducted.
A winning Mega Millions lottery ticket was claimed for $1.6 billion.
Key Facts
Lottery officials said the winner, whose name was kept anonymous, claimed the prize on Monday, within the 60-day threshold of the lottery drawing to claim the prize as a lump sum.
Mega Millions announced on August 9 that a winning ticket matched all six numbers for the $1.58 billion jackpot, beating the astronomical 1-in-302.6 million odds of winning the jackpot, and making it the biggest Mega Millions jackpot and the third-biggest U.S. lottery jackpot of all time, behind only a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot claimed last November and a $1.59 billion Powerball jackpot that was split between three ticket holders in January 2016.
The ticket holder will only bank a fraction of that dollar figure, however, after federal taxes are deducted, including a federal marginal rate up to 37% that would decrease the cash value to just over $493 million.
The winner, whose ticket was purchased at a Publix grocery store in Neptune Beach, Florida, has the option of receiving that money as an upfront lump sum or in 30 annual installments, the less popular choice among lottery winners.
Big Number
$850 million. That’s the size of the Powerball jackpot, which is slated for its next drawing at 10:59 p.m. on Wednesday. The jackpot, which has risen for months, is the fourth biggest in the Powerball’s history. It also gives contestants a slightly better chance of winning than does Mega Millions, though the odds—at 1-in-292.2 million—are still staggering.
Tangent
All of the top ten biggest lottery jackpots have been won in the past seven years, with five of them coming in the last two years alone, including the $2.04 billion Powerball last November. Part of the reason why there have been so many massive jackpots is a pair of rules changes implemented over the past ten years, which gave contestants improved odds of winning smaller lottery prizes, but worsened the odds of winning the jackpot, leading to more unsuccessful drawings and bigger jackpots.
Further Reading
Mega Millions: Ticket Sold In Florida Wins Record $1.58 Billion Jackpot—Here’s How Much The Winner Will Take Home After Taxes (Forbes)
Powerball Jackpot Hits $835 Million—Here’s How Much The Winner Will Take Home After Taxes (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/09/27/158-billion-mega-millions-winner-claims-jackpot-one-month-later/