Posted on 12/27/2018 4:17:55 PM PST by NRx
In late October, Mega Millions announced that someone had won its $1.5 billion jackpot. But two months have passed and still, no one has come forward to claim the enormous prize, Josh Whiteside, director of marketing at the South Carolina Education Lottery, tells CNBC Make It.
"Everyone's talking about it," said Jee Patel, the manager of the KC Mart in Simpsonville, South Carolina, where the winning ticket was purchased. "It's a mystery."
The winner, who beat the odds of 1 in 302 million, gets 180 days, or until April 21, to collect before the ticket expires.
If the prize goes unclaimed by the deadline, according to the Mega Millions website, "each participating state in the Mega Millions game will get back all the money that state contributed to the unclaimed jackpot."
States set their own priorities on how they spend that unclaimed prize money. "In Maryland and some other states, for example, unclaimed winnings go into pots for player prizes related to second-chance games and promotions and other bonus prizes," reports Slate. "Unclaimed lottery winnings in Wisconsin go to the state's general fund and are used for property tax relief. Georgia reserves some of its for treatment for gambling addiction."
In South Carolina, unclaimed winnings are put in a fund typically used for educational expenses. Throughout the country, states spend a significant portion of lottery proceeds on education.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
I’m guessing the winner is just waiting for the next Freepathon.
I won and, I’m donating it to the NRA.
Jumping through the legal hoops to STAY ANONYMOUS:
This cat ain’t stupid.
Maybe they died of a heart-attack.
Seceral possible explanations:
1) The ticket was left in the pocket of a pair of pants that went through the washer
2) The ticket fell into a space in the couch,long forgotten.
3) The winner is in talks with a lawyer and/or accountant and will have his/her LLC claim the prize soon.
As for #2...there’s a chance that this ticket will be found after the established expiration date,which could set off fireworks that would be fun to watch.
Waking Ned Devine...great film!
Jee Patel - there’s a honey-dipped Carolina name eh?
Maybe that's what this guy did.
If you’ve never seen the movie Waking Ned Devine (1998) I highly recommend it. It’s a lottery comedy.
GMTA
If I had won this, I’d be afraid the longer I try to hide, the more likely it is the store will release surveillance footage from the ticket purchase, if they have it.
Maybe they died of a heart-attack....ack, ack, ack.
h/t B.Joel
Maybe the winner lives in New Jersey or New York and is afraid of the taxes due.
Ping to all lists, maybe this will be important to one of you, or someone you know. The location where the ticket was sold -- does it ring a bell? Maybe the winner is out there, waiting for all the legal stuff to get squared away, or waiting for the new tax year. Myself, I'd just get it over with, cash it, pay the taxes, and get on with my life. Sidebar: last night MegaMillions and PowerBall (both are sold in participating states, AFAIK) were up into the 100s of millions again, but a lucky player in Brooklyn NY (probably a supporter of Ocasio-Cortez, and an illegal alien) won the PowerBall last night.
There was a man in Massachusetts who won a big lottery prize then lost it because he waited too long to save money on his tax bill.
read a winner can stay anonymous in SC.
Someone lost their winning ticket.
No one would wait more than two months to claim their prize.
Whoever it is inappropriately touched me 20 years ago.
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