The lucky Florida resident who won $1.58 billion in the Mega Millions jackpot has yet to come forward, officials said Wednesday.
The eye-popping amount was won with a ticket sold at a Publix store in Neptune Beach, Florida.
Florida Lottery Secretary James F. Davis said Wednesday that officials do not yet know who bought the winning lottery ticket.
The Mega Prize, the third largest in US history, must be claimed in person at the Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee within 180 days of the drawing.
The winner can claim the money all at once or in annual installments.
The Publix supermarket in Neptune Beach, Florida that sold the winning ticket will also receive a $100,000 “bonus commission”
Lucky Florida resident who won $1.58 billion in Mega Millions jackpot has yet to report
Lottery winners do not have the option to remain anonymous in Florida, but are given 90 days before being made public.
The huge win broke the end of a four-month winner’s drought for the Florida lottery that saw the jackpot keep rolling.
There have been 31 consecutive draws since the last time someone hit the game’s jackpot on April 18th.
Tuesday’s magic numbers that ended the stretch were 13-19-20-32-33 and the Mega Ball: 14.
Prize money is subject to federal taxes. Many states also tax lottery winnings. Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands.
The Publix supermarket that sold the winning ticket will also receive a $100,000 “bonus commission.”
A local woman who shops at the same Publix told me News 4 Jax “I hope it’s someone I know, I’m just kidding, but I hope it’s someone in the local community because that’s great.
“There are so many deserving people here.”
A local woman, who shops in the same Publix, told News 4 Jax: ‘I hope it’s someone I know’
The Mega Prize, the third largest in US history, must be claimed in person at the Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee within 180 days of the drawing.
Another customer told the Atlanta Journal constitution ‘this is amazing, that the Mega Millions jackpot is that much and that it’s in this neighborhood is just (crazy)’.
A neighbor told the publication, “I’m happy for them, but I wish I was. I can’t help being a little green with envy.”
Neptune Beach has a population of just over 7,000 and is located about 15 miles east of Jacksonville on Florida’s Atlantic coast.
Davis told the Associated Press, “These individuals may be going to contact an attorney, contact a financial advisor, and make sure they get their ducks lined up.
“Because as you know, when you’re a winner, you have the opportunity to make such a difference in so many individual lives.”
Describing the moment he found out there had been a Mega Millions winner in Florida, David said he was at a Multi-State Lottery Association meeting in Iowa: “I walked into the conference room and everyone started clapping, which was decent. thrilling and thrilling at the same time.’
“I’ll just tell you that the last two Powerball winners have been in California, and I’ve been waiting for the next winner to be here in Florida,” he said.
The latest winner has bagged the largest prize in Mega Million history, narrowly beating the previous high of $1.537 billion sold in South Carolina in 2018.
The winnings can be exciting, but Mega Millions players only have a 1 in 302,575,350 chance of hitting the jackpot in any draw.
“We congratulate our latest jackpot winner, as well as the more than 43.7 million winners across all prize tiers during this jackpot run,” Gretchen Corbin, Chief Executive Officer of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement Wednesday.
“We are also celebrating the funds generated for the many charities supported by our participating lotteries.”