The first lottery billionaire
By Todd Northrop
What was billed as the largest lottery jackpot the world has ever seen has been won Tuesday night by a single lottery ticket sold in South Carolina.
It turns out the final number was just a bit shy of the record: $1.537 billion.
The public has been electrified this week by the meteoric Mega Millions lottery jackpot, first hitting $1 billion Friday, and then rising to $1.6 billion for Tuesday night's historic drawing.
The winner of the unimaginable haul will choose between being paid $1.537 billion in 30 annually-increasing payments over 29 years or the lump-sum cash value of $877.8 million.
The winning ticket was sold at KC Mart #7 at 303 Lee Vaughn Rd. in Simpsonville, South Carolina. It is the first time a jackpot-winning Mega Millions ticket has been sold in the state.
The Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday, October 23, 2018, were: 5, 28, 62, 65, and 70, with Mega Ball number 5. The Megaplier was 3.
Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot was the accumulation of 25 consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner over a two-month stretch. The jackpot run-up started as a $40 million grand prize on Jul. 27, 2018.
"The moment we've been waiting for finally arrived, and we couldn't be more excited," said Gordon Medenica, Lead Director of the Mega Millions Group and Director of Maryland Lottery and Gaming. "We're so happy for the winner or winners, and we know the South Carolina Education Lottery can't wait to meet them."
It's hard to imagine the winner getting much sleep Tuesday night, as they try to process winning the world's largest lottery jackpot ever awarded to a single ticket.
Millions of lottery players in the USA and around the world are wondering what they are planning to do with all that loot.
What is the first thing you would do?
But we may never get to know the winner of that giant jackpot, since South Carolina is one of a handful of states that allow a lottery jackpot winner to remain anonymous.
Fortunately, even if you didn't win the jackpot, the Mega Millions game still offers another 8 ways to win lower-tier prizes.
In addition to the jackpot winner, 36 lucky players matched the first 5 numbers for a $1,000,000 prize: 1 from Arizona, 8 from California, 4 from Florida, 1 from Iowa, 1 from Kentucky, 2 from Massachusetts, 2 from Michigan, 1 from Missouri, 2 from New Jersey, 1 from New Mexico, 4 from New York, 2 from North Carolina, 1 from Ohio, 1 from Pennsylvania, 1 from Texas, 2 from Virginia, 1 from Washington, D.C., and 1 from Wisconsin.
Two of the second-prize winners — one of the tickets sold in Florida and the ticket sold in Texas — were purchased with the Megaplier option for an extra $1. Because they purchased the Megaplier, those tickets are now worth $3 million after being multiplier by the Megaplier number of 3.
The California second-prize winners will each receive $562,472 this drawing, because by law California awards all prizes on a pari-mutuel basis, meaning the prizes will change each drawing based on the number of tickets sold and the number of tickets that won at each prize level.
419 tickets matched four white numbers plus the Mega Ball and won $10,000. Of those tickets, 51 were purchased with the Megaplier option, increasing the prize to $30,000, and 70 were sold in California, where the prize was $8,906 this drawing.
In total, more than 15.7 million tickets won prizes across the game's nine prize tiers in Tuesday's drawing. There were approximately 370 million tickets sold across the game's 46 states and jurisdictions during the four-day period leading up to the drawing (Oct. 20 through Oct. 23), with sales reaching nearly $740 million for that span.
The still record-holder for the world's largest lottery jackpot was a $1.5864 billion Powerball jackpot in Jan. 2016, split three-ways by ticket-holders in California, Florida, and Tennessee.
The odds to win the Mega Millions jackpot were 1 in 302.6 million.
Maryland Lottery and Gaming spokeswoman Carole Gentry today said it is estimated that more than 75 percent of all the possible number combinations would have been bought for the drawing.
Had no one matched all of the numbers drawn lottery officials said the next jackpot would have reached $2 billion.
With the jackpot being won Tuesday, the next Mega Millions annuity jackpot estimate is reset to its starting point of $40 million.
Mega Millions is currently offered for sale in 44 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 pm Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each.
The Mega Millions winning numbers are published at USA Mega (www.usamega.com) minutes after the drawing takes place.
Top 25 United States lottery jackpots of all time
Tuesday's $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot stands as the second-largest lottery jackpot of all time in the United States — and the world.
- Powerball: $1.5864 billion, Jan. 13, 2016 - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $1.537 billion, Oct. 23, 2018 - South Carolina
- Powerball: $758.7 million, Aug. 23, 2017 - Massachusetts
- Mega Millions: $656 million, Mar. 30, 2012 - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Mega Millions: $636 million, Dec. 17, 2013 - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $620 million, Oct. 24, 2007 - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $590.5 million, May 18, 2013 - Florida
- Powerball: $587.5 million, Nov. 28, 2012 - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $564.1 million, Feb. 11, 2015 - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Powerball: $559.7 million, Jan. 6, 2018 - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $543 million, Jul. 24, 2018 - California
- Mega Millions: $536 million, Jul. 8, 2016 - Indiana
- Mega Millions: $533 million, Mar. 30, 2018 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $487 million, Jul. 30, 2016 - New Hampshire
- Powerball: $456.7 million, Mar. 17, 2018 - Pennsylvania
- Mega Millions: $451 million, Jan. 5, 2018 - Florida
- Powerball: $448.4 million, Aug. 7, 2013 - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $447.8 million, Jun. 10, 2017 - California
- Powerball: $435.3 million, Feb. 22, 2017 - Indiana
- Powerball: $429.6 million, May 7, 2016 - New Jersey
- Powerball: $425.3 million, Feb. 19, 2014 - California
- Powerball: $420.9 million, Nov. 26, 2016 - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $414 million, Mar. 18, 2014 - Florida, Maryland
- Powerball: $399.4 million, Sep. 18, 2013 - South Carolina
- Mega Millions: $393 million, Aug. 11, 2017 - Illinois
For those keeping score, the number of jackpots in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 15
- Mega Millions: 10
Top 25 cash value jackpots
The Tuesday Mega Millions jackpot ranks as the 2nd-largest cash value in world history.
- Powerball: $983.5 million cash, Jan. 13, 2016 ($1.5864 billion annuity) - California, Florida, Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $877.8 million cash, Oct. 23, 2018 ($1.537 billion annuity) - South Carolina
- Powerball: $480.5 million cash, Aug. 23, 2017 ($758.7 million annuity) - Massachusetts
- Mega Millions: $471 million cash, Mar. 30, 2012 ($656 million annuity) - Illinois, Kansas, Maryland
- Powerball: $384.7 million cash, Nov. 28, 2012 ($587.5 million annuity) - Arizona, Missouri
- Powerball: $381.1 million cash, Feb. 11, 2015 ($564.1 million annuity) - North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Texas
- Mega Millions: $378 million cash, Jul. 8, 2016 ($536 million annuity) - Indiana
- Powerball: $370.9 million cash, May 18, 2013 ($590.5 million annuity) - Florida
- Powerball: $354.3 million cash, Oct. 24, 2018 ($620 million annuity) - Preliminary estimate, not won yet
- Powerball: $352 million cash, Jan. 6, 2018 ($559.7 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $347.6 million cash, Dec. 17, 2013 ($636 million annuity) - California, Georgia
- Powerball: $336.8 million cash, Jul. 30, 2016 ($487 million annuity) - New Hampshire
- Mega Millions: $324 million cash, Mar. 30, 2018 ($533 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $320.5 million cash, Jul. 24, 2018 ($543 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $284 million cash, May 7, 2016 ($429.6 million annuity) - New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $281.9 million cash, Jan. 5, 2018 ($451 million annuity) - Florida
- Powerball: $279.1 million cash, Jun. 10, 2017 ($447.8 million annuity) - California
- Powerball: $273.9 million cash, Mar. 17, 2018 ($456.7 million annuity) - Pennsylvania
- Powerball: $263.5 million cash, Feb. 22, 2017 ($435.3 million annuity) - Indiana
- Powerball: $258.2 million cash, Aug. 7, 2013 ($448.4 million annuity) - Minnesota, New Jersey (2)
- Powerball: $254.7 million cash, Nov. 26, 2016 ($420.9 million annuity) - Tennessee
- Mega Millions: $246.5 million cash, Aug. 11, 2017 ($393 million annuity) - Illinois
- Mega Millions: $240 million cash, Jan. 4, 2011 ($380 million annuity) - Idaho, Washington
- Mega Millions: $233.1 million cash, Mar. 6, 2007 ($390 million annuity) - Georgia, New Jersey
- Mega Millions: $230.9 million cash, Mar. 18, 2014 ($414 million annuity) - Florida, Maryland
The number of jackpot cash values in the top 25, by lottery game, are:
- Powerball: 14
- Mega Millions: 11
Congrats to the winner in SC. I do not think they have to give their name do they?
I hope a group of people won. If not I hope this individual is smart and prepared. There is an extra sting knowing the winning ticket was sold in my state and I'm not the winner. Yes, plumsage you can remain anonymous which is great.
Great run !!! Thank you Todd & staff for all the articles written. To our fellow LP members contributing to the conversations, thank you for the education and entertainment...... Powerball tonight, BRING IT !!
We got tonight.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahah! That was priceless!!!
I am surprised more states don’t allow anonymity for winners. If I ran the state, I would want the person with a huge amount of money to stay in my state, so that the state would continue to benefit when the investments start to earn money and generate even more revenue over many years, even if the winner chose the lump sum option. Without anonymity, the incentive is to move away to get away from people who know who and where you are. If you have family that does not want to move with you, it makes for a tough decision. Anonymity would make it easier to stay.
Guilty as charged!
Funny CD
Congrats to the winner/s
Spend it wisely
curious little article I think a few and many might enjoy
Congrats again to the SC Winner/s
OK Todd... You and your staff did a great job covering the MM run-up.
Now get some sleep you'll need it for when PB hits $1 Bil again soon!
interesting
NO WINNING TICKET, NO GOLF, BACK TO WORK!!!
Golfer... where did you get hearsetrax photo from ???
Congratulations to the Mega Millions winner in South Carolina! I hope it was a Lottery Post member.
After all that, only second place jackpot and second place cash, WOW.
Mega Millions: $1.537 billion annuity, $877.8 million cash
Well, now we wait for Powerball.
I smelled a billion dollar jackpot and now my taste buds won't settle for the measly 620 Million. I'll put my $2 winnings from last night into the jackpot, but anything more will be saved up until PB hits 1.6B
So a lot of tickets were printed showing the jackpot as 1.6 billion and the actual amount was 1.537 billion........lesson learned.
My dad is right again here in NC, warning me, "Cassie, if you're going to play rigged PB and rigged Mega, buy only 1 or maximum 2.
NWI(not worth it)Cassie. I always used to think welp, you have to be in it to try and win it dad, but he said, "If not rigged, why in the world is
there always 99.9% each time fo zillion years always when it's real high" 1 single winner, feasibly 2."He think it should be MORE winner's in a
multi-state at that when over 50 million or over 100 million.So i guess he is never going to be playing again because it is rigged."(his words)
but i will try when it is high but not all the time. I think he is right, so i will stick with winning many thousands at a time with better odds
of Pick 4.
Good luck to you all though with your games.Happy for a Carolinian winning.So nice."Congrats.
A total joke 1 winner !!!
It wasn't me. I played in OH and PA. Congrats to the winner. At least, SC will get the tax rev.
Estimated jackpot... Powerball still #1 spot.
Thank you Todd et all for all the hard work put into these stories.
Here we're hoping it's a group of factory workers or the like that could use a break and maybe quit those jobs.
As for me, no more Megaplier or Powerplay, just not worth it anymore. Same with the Season tickets, when they expire mid January 2019 that's it!
Personally enjoyed each and every post. Now let's get Powerball on a run.
Oh well, at least we still have Powerball lol
Good luck everyone
I need a Zanex after all that. I had one number on 3 tickets, total winnings ZERO.
Come on Powerball, daddy needs a new pair of shoes!!
Glad only one winner got the jackpot. This is what I wanted for myself so glad someone else will get to experience all of the dough.
Now that the wind is out of the sails $620 million nothing to not get excited about.
Todd et all still have their NJ 6 worth an ESTIMATED $23 million...good luck to them.
Now all you people who scream for anonymity will never know who the winner(s) are since SC allows the winner to remain anonymous.
Knowing would do what exactly? Allow us to give them extensive advice to manage a portfolio we ourselves never had the opportunity to and all of which they will not read anyway? The only thing I am ever curious about when it comes to winners is was it a QP or Self-pick and I won't lose sleep if I don't know. I am happy they have that option for their safety and smooth transition to the next level.
"KC Mart #7 at 303 Lee Vaughn Rd. in Simpsonville sold the winning ticket" . . source . . Google map
Lucky ba$tard !!
Just remember, they were one of us...
Perfect !!! Since I didn't win, it's none of my business anyway
Looks like it's in the boonies.
Oh I’m super excited about that “paltry” $620 mil, I’ll gladly take it lol
Thirty Six people hit for 5 numbers. Two got $3 million, the rest got $1 million. So you're saying you would have been happy to give up $2 million to save a buck?
Not me.
Absolutely! That measley buck, combined with another from the next ticket, buys me a whole 'nother shot at the big money!
But, yeah. That would be a bummer. The last draw had a 5x multiplier, so even a bigger deal for those who missed out.
That is if they are smart enough to do it, and not be like those people from Tennessee last year that hit the talk show circuit as soon as they found out they won.
Indeed. Best not to advertise that you can swim in money like Scrooge McDuck.
Here is my contribution
yes indeed with that kind of money they should have had at least 2 or 3 winners.
Just a thought... At this point in time, The ticket purchaser could have bought it for a group or have a large family that they would share it with.
I'll be contrarian. I hope it was one phenomenally lucky person who won more money than any single person has in the history of lotteries, because that's precisely the dream I had yesterday!
That is too funny. 51= number of sales per week making money on amazon. That could happen.
I hope it was a group of people that did it. Maybe an office pool people or maybe workers and they're luck came in. The next thing for this ticket holder(s) to get financial, lawyer and accountant and an advisor for the spokespeople. Then the planning.
Wouldn't it be funny if the ticket is lost or destroyed and nobody redeems it?
Simpsonville SC... home of Bart Simpson! lol
You know what. Whomever has that ticket should buy a small safe, then put it in, certify something back to themselves, and put it some place where they know it. That would be my thing. Whomever has it, they're probably nerves and on the phone with a lawyer and financial planner and needs to think where exactly to put it.
Simpsonville is too far away from Augusta, GA to have hope that my daughter might have purchased a winning ticket. That hope is gone now, too!
I am hoping a pool won. If anyone knows the winner or winners, I would love an introduction. I don't seek any handouts or loans.
Simpsonville, S.C. Population 22,072.
Anyone starts driving around in fancy new cars or trucks and it's gonna be the talk of the town. Was it them???
"What was billed as the largest lottery jackpot the world has ever seen ..."
wasn't. I still can't believe they started with such a high estimate. And considering they came up short what on Earth prompted them to bump the cash value?
After all the money people have spent over the past few drawings it will definitely be interesting to see the initial estimate for PB, and then see if/how it changes if there's a roll.
I am so glad Mega got hit last night. It was getting annoying going to local convenience store within 60 minutes of the deadline only to have the lottery line held up by the Pick 3 and Pick 4 cuckoos verbally giving their picks. Through my drives, I finally came across a store that will only accept Pick 3 and Pick 4 bets only on play slips. MY, what a concept! Those folks be there for like 5 minutes when the lottery line is 10+ deep and time is 15 til the deadline. If everyone in front of me pulled the same stunt, I would be getting there at 30 seconds until the deadline and could only hope my playslip gets inserted in time for the ticket to be for that drawing.
NOTE to all Pick 3 and Pick 4 players...use the play slips. I have never visited a convenience store that lacked them. Use them. Keep your transaction to less than 30 seconds. Everyone will appreciate that courtesy.
Yeah, I didn't win last night but I win by waking up each day. Winning the lottery would just be a bonus.
I was going to go to Wawa and went to Rite aid near where I work at. There was one person ahead of me and then I looked at the pyramids. I played what i wanted to and my mom asked for $4 worth.
Wholesale, Retail arbitrage or private label?
The 8 California winners only got $562,472 each.
this jackpot was so big that if someone played every combination they would come out with a huge profit. don't know if someone could actually do that in reality.
The Friday before the lone 5 + 0 winner in California got $3M. They didn't even have to spend the extra dollar.
Yeah, we funny that way. I got $2.00 from a $10.00 bet. Lost $8 but you win some, lose some. Close to water, like l always say. A win facing the Atlantic must be evened by a win facing the Pacific.
* As Thanos said “ perfectly balanced as all things should be.”
... Unless there were multiple winning tickets.
Said the same thing for years and was an advocate for the extra dollar. However I just sat myself down and figured it hasn't panned out for me so will cool it for a bit. My Season Tickets there is no option for it. Many times I've chided folks for not spending the dollar, and now join their ranks until end of November when my tickets for Ohio and Indiana run out. Then we'll start with the extra dollar.
Simpsonville, SC...wish it was Simpsonville, KY. Oh well, $620 million Powerball is mine tonight.
I am ready with a single Powerball ticket for the balance.
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY CONGRATS TO THE WINNER OR WINNERS AND I'M HAPPY THAT SOMEONE FROM SOUTH CAROLINA WIN BIG GOD MUST THINK YOU ARE REALLY SPECIAL TO RECEIVE THAT KIND OF BLESSING WISH I COULD HAVE PLAYED BUT I HAD TO PAY MY LIGHT BILL THE 5 GRANDSON AGE THE 28 SON DATE OF BIRTH 62 YEAR I WAS BORN 65 THE FLIP OF MY AGE THE 70 THE AGE OF MY DECEASE MOTHER O WELL MAYBE THE NEXT TIME AND I NEEDED IT TO WITH ALL THE MED BILLS AND STILL MY HUSBAND NEEDS THERAPY AFTER HIS MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT PLUS I NEED TO GO TO THE DR FOR RA AND LUPUS YES IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE BUT MAYBE THE NEXT TIME
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
I will throw in $12 that I won from MM and see what happens. It should be around $8M after all the taxes and advices fees, even I win with Todd, my plan will be intact.
PAY OFF CREDIT CARD DEBT. Splurge little by taking vacation in Disneyworld, $500k house with few new furnitures in current town, put $200k in two banks and invest the rest. This will be well over amount I can fully retire but I will go nuts if I had nothing to do in my house all day with my wife. I love her but we will have rest of our life time to be with together.
I will find part time gig. Maybe drive Uber for kicks, or invest little to grow eBay business. It will be great if I can stop waking up at 6AM just to fight off traffic and come home around 7PM.
THE MOST EXPENSIVE HOME LISTING IN SIMPSONVILLE, SC IS $2.9M, 5BD/9BTH, 3.18 ACRES.
I used to work in Simpsonville. It's a small town not that far from Greenville.
It could be a lottery pool. There are some factory plants in Simpsonville.
Nice town to live in Trucker?
If someone bought 302 million tickets, then that person would have to split the jackpot with the SC winner, each getting only $440 million, thus losing $166 million.
I don't like the concept of lottery pools. Buy your own tickets and stop wasting time at work.
100% on the play slips!!!
I would not live in same town unless I already live in house like that.
I would collect, work at same place and do nothing for few month and move to different town telling everyone that I found a better job in NYC and buy a cheap house nearby NYC than move to California where my lawyer makes it very difficult to find my new info.
I've read where celebrities get their house bought by a LLC they've created. This way makes it harder for fans to find where they live using public records.
Dang the store owner only gets 50k. I mean that's better than nothing but I would have thought at least a fat milli.
Also does anyone think that if the person(s) claim anonymously this will effect the future health of large jackpot progression. We already know of all the people who complain about it being rigged rather it be from fellow members or the people standing behind you at the local 7-Eleven. I feel like a anon win would further fuel these thoughts which would be bad since we need those non-regular players to play and increase the size of the jackpots. It's bad enough that the estimate was over estimated last night.
Why would being forced to disclose your name make non-regular players more likely to play? That makes no sense.
It's not rigged, it's just very very very difficult to win. It's not a secret. On the back of the ticket is the odds of winning.
Yes.
If you win that kind of wealth, you quickly study what Family Office is. They will take care of you from top to bottom.
As it should be everywhere.
Would rather have a FREE BEER!
Congrats to the winner - wonder if it's someone I know? I live in Simpsonville, SC.
This KC Mart store is a small store situated in the triangle area of Scuffletown, Lee Vaughn & Bethany Rds. It does look like it is in the boonies (as one poster commented) but, it's an area that still has some green space left. This area of Simpsonville has housing prices ranging from $100K - $1Mil+ . I actually bought a ticket from this store for last Friday's draw, and ALMOST went there to purchase a ticket yesterday, but decided against it (it is a little out of my way). According to today's Greenville News article, the store will ge $30K for selling the winning ticket (I believe another poster said $50K).
I wonder, what are the chances of Simpsonville SC also selling the next jackpot winning PB ticket?
Congratulations my brother I am very proud of you
Cassie8620,
In the grand scheme of things when the MUSL was advertising $6B and it turned out to be less their reply would be that it was just a projection, but let an accountant or someone working in a bank make an equivalent error and
"Greenville News article" . . link
IGTW- SO CLOSE, YET SO FAR!! SORRY MAN!
OH MY!
Congrats!
The winner might have returned to the scene of the win smiling inside amidst the spectacle. That has always been my fantasy should I ever win.
About as good as me getting a date with Heidi Klum...
Wow 1 ticket!! Congratulations! Best wishes for a long and happy life and spending spree! I know money doesn't buy happiness but it sure does help!
From the location, it probably is a local. Hoping the winner takes time to get everything in order before claiming (and maybe give the store where it was brought from an extra tip). As for the chances of Simpsonville SC also selling the next jackpot winning PB ticket? As good a chance as anywhere else...
Reminds me of this quote: "Money doesn't buy happiness but at least you can arrive at your problems in style."
It's kind of hard to answer your reply for 3 reasons.
1.) I didnt say that "being forced to disclose your name would make non-regular players MORE likely to play.
2.) There's no reason to comment "It's not rigged since I didn't suggest it was nor did I ask if people thought it was
3.) My question is one where you have to step away from what you know and how you feel about the games.
Ok let me break down my original comment. When the lottery gets really high we need people who don't usually play to come in and spend their money to help the jackpots increase by several million between each draw. If they didn't it would take twice as much longer to see these huge jackpots. Now most of the time when the lottery is won you can usually see some video of the winner that shows "Hey look at me Im a regular joe, If I won then anyone can. This is the reason why most states want you to come forward, pose for the cameras, then do a short 9 min question and answer segment.
Everyone already realizes its really hard to win but with less transparency the people who aren't playing all the time will look at this and say " Gee whiz not only is it hard to win but we cant even see who the person is that won this record breaking Mega Millions jackpot. On top of this will be the people who 100% feel like the lottery is rigged whispering sweet nothings about told you so since (if our SC winner(s) claim anon) we won't be able to see who won. Now again I don't think its rigged I see that's its just a mix of probability/randomness/and right place & time. Which is why I asked if anyone thinks this may hurt the health of our most beloved multi-state jackpot games.
NOW, that's what I'm talking about! A single winner not sharing the wealth. Makes the game more exciting, even if you lose. Get ready for Powerball to reach 2 billion! Could take a few more runs than expected as people these days are disillusioned, depressed, down, hopeless after last night loss and have quit playing.
Mega Millions is second to powerball again.-weshar75
I just keep thinking of the movie "The Running Man" with the Arnold. Remember what happened to the past winners of that game show that were shown publicly?
[Referring to dead bodies]
Amber Mendez: They're running men. Last season's winners.
Fireball: No. Last season's losers.
HEY NOOOOWWW,
Nice little store I see... has all the essentials in that first photo....Slim Jims, Mentos, 5 Hr Energy drink and Hershey bars, few 12 packs of Bud Light and Michelob Ultra in the back ground all topped off by a fella with a red dot smack in the middle of his forehead !!! I see later on in the photos it looks like " Dog The Bounty Hunter" putting up some lottery sign outside. Then there's that gal in the red top, talkin' on her phone. Boy,does she look serious Better not mess with her at all !! Then there's that fella behind the green cloth table .. I swear he looks like Ari Fleischer, former white house press secretary. OOps,he's talking with the red dot guy again..... Well, all in all, it looks like a nice lil country store to go buy some lottery tickets in....
Congrats to them
I would also help family and those in need and of course animal conservation but I think the first 24 hours I would have to get my happy dance out of the way!!!2nd day I would ask for and look for safe guidance. Mayb share the news to a few that could be trusted. Life changes like this must be overwhelming! Taking one day at a time is the best advice.
For every person who complains about it being rigged, there are hundreds of others who don't care. There are thousands of players entering the game everyday. Some people just like to complaint and I bet most of them are players themselves.
What a lovely thing to happen! Congrats to the winner(s) and their family.
I looked up the city....lots of industry there in a 20,000 person town. So maybe a factory lottery pool?
If tell one, everyone around will know.
If I was to win that kind of crazy amount of money, I will probably plan things out so I can produce several multi millionaire per year with guidance of investment strategies budgeting so they could live on dividend and interest for life.
Hey! Second cousin. Now you have $2.5M in your portfolio and house paid off. You and your wife can live happily ever after. You are on your own now. Don't worry your kids still will have access to college funds along with insurance. Just go and enjoy your new wealth, don't forget to donate to your favorite charity or two. See you at the Christmas party and keep in touch.
This guy buying a Mega in front of me three days ago told the store cashier who had just sold him a ticket, "If I win I'll give you half" for everyone to hear. Ain't that break yar heart? Lucky he didn't win.
"If not I hope this individual is smart and prepared."
Actually being smart and prepared has nothing to do about winning a jackpot because lots of dumb and unprepared people have won jackpots.
It was rigged easily...2 repeats
"I feel like a anon win would further fuel these thoughts which would be bad since we need those non-regular players to play and increase the size of the jackpots."
I'm pretty sure it's regular players (unless it's just some people here) who have delusions about the lottery being rigged. The people who don't play regularly probably just pay more attention to the reality of the odds. They're only going to play when the jackpot gets really high, so they'll never be the ones who build the jackpot to the huge amounts where people other than regulars start buying tickets. The only thing I see stopping them from buying tickets once it does get to some really large amount is a belief that they'll have a crack at even more if they wait for the next drawing.
Eventually single winners for billion dollar jackpots will be the norm because even at that level the jackpot will only increase by $100 million and multiple winners will be unlikely.
"It's bad enough that the estimate was over estimated last night."
I think that estimate was stupid and that it was easily foreseeable that they might come up short, but I doubt that will have any effect on how much people play.
.
CDanaT,
Yes, ditto the kudos to Todd, for his tireless work, while the rest of us were getting tired of watching roll after roll,
and never expecting the winner to be any of "us".
But your signature stays to the effect of "staying in the hunt". I don't know. I am too tired for that.
I've followed my own signature long since before I even wrote it, and still believe in it.
Sms 1989... I agree with you and the rest of us also wish for a smart and prepared winner. No one, including you, suggested it had anything to do with winning a jp. Lol
It's also very close to the NC border. Could be someone from NC wanting to the right to claim anonymously if they happened to beat the astronomical odds.
Still playing the PB tonight, right ??
They probably expected a more than the 32% increase in sales than they had. The 36 of the 369,698,113 tickets sold matching five numbers were more than probability making up for the previous drawing.
If PB climbs to over $1 billion with only one winning ticket, I'm wondering if lottery players will start asking for demanding a game with more jackpot winning tickets. One winner getting over $1.5 billion or one hundred winners getting $15 million?
A pool for one drawing isn't a bad idea in states experienced with pools. But the people in the weekly pools are risking what should be the time of their lives turning into a nightmare when one or two players say they were part of the pool. For every legal form people think will cover it, a good lawyer will find twice as many reasons their client should get a piece of the pie.
If 1989 taking about another jackpot winner, why did they post it on this thread?
TV shows like "the curse of the lottery" are all about dumb and unprepared jackpot winners and acknowledging that fact doesn't translate into ill wishes for any winner. I have no idea what "anything to do with winning a jp" means after saying "the rest of us also wish for a smart and prepared winner" because it makes no sense.
Thanks, Artist77 you definitely got what I was trying to say. I clearly know that winning a jackpot doesn't make someone smart or prepared. Hence, the reason why I said I "hope" if it is an individual that they're smart and prepared. I would love for this money to help as many people as possible for years to come.
Like you, or anyone else< would turn down a $620 mil jackpot just because you didn't win the $1.6 MM.
I know I would take anything the lotteries have to throw my way.
$50,000, $1 mil or even $620 mil. I'm not picky!
I have a daughter that lives in Simpsonville, SC.
I called her this morning hoping it was her that won.
It wasn't
I wonder if the winner(s) are going to wait until last day to pick up winnings.
I'm sitting out powerball for tonight. Dive back into it Saturday.
Me too!
Lotteries do what the people want, the people have consistently and clearly said that they want HUGE jackpots and they don't care how winners come about as a result. YOU might want more winners at the expense of jackpot size, but as a whole the wishes of the people are clear.
Just like the price of gas, the odds are going to continue to be raised until it will be almost impossible to be won.
I had 30 tickets for $60 total and got $6 back only 10% return but better than ZERO!
Got 10 Tickets in powerball tonite so who knows. HEHE!
Imagine if they came out with a new multi state lottery instrument with fewer numbers, better odds, like the way it used to be. Make the odds 50,000,000:1, maybe. Of course they would add balls to it over time to increase the odds, but it would be another revenue stream for the powers that be.
There is, it's called Cash 4 life or Lucky for life depending on the state. No one cares about them so they roll and roll despite the very easy odds.
I bough my mm and pb ticket at the same store that sold a $1M winner last nite. feeling very optimistic about my 2 pb tickets.
Those are nationwide lotteries? I thought they were only hosted by the individual state. My bad.
Ah you are right! Florida's Cash for Life is $2 a play similar to PB/MM. The odds are 1: 21,846,048 to win the cash payout of $7M. I've never played that game here in Florida. It might do so in the future. Thanks
Steve palaver emailed me before the 1.6 B draw he wrote to make the odds down to 12 million from 302 million I have to buy 25 tickets with 1-25 megaball covered
PB $620 Million - 3,21,45,53,56 (22)
Just like with MM and PB pre-2010, they are essentially the same game but depending on the state you get either A or B, not both which sucks. They really should combine them and just have one version or the other in all participating lotteries.
I've done it in the past but i stopped a while ago due to it constantly rolling and rolling without a winner and yet the jackpot stayed the same. The odds are easier, not easy. May as well dream in the hundreds of millions, rather than $365,000 a year.
"Could be someone from NC wanting to the right to claim anonymously"
Somebody smart enough to drive to another state in the hopes of anonymity probably wouldn't have driven past all of the places closer to NC that also sell lottery tickets. It's also far enough off the interstate that it's very unlikely to be a traveler making a gas stop. It's almost certainly somebody with a connection to the area.
It doesn't matter if the 25 tickets have different megaball numbers or not. Covering all megaball numbers 1-25 has nothing to do with reducing the odds for the jackpot prize. They could all be the same megaball number (with the other 5 numbers different) and the reduced odds would remain the same...
It's not rigged. The megaball is drawn from a different set of numbered balls than the white balls.
It's amazing how many message boards, twitter accounts and other forms a social media are devoted to conspiracy theories and "rigged lotteries" are just one of hundreds. And most of lottery rigging claims are based on ignorance of the drawings process which is next to impossible to rig.
I agree! I truly believe that those that thinks it’s rigged, still took a chance at a billion dollar lottery.
I wonder if it was a quick pick
Having two numbers repeat from one drawing to the next is exactly as likely as buying a ticket that matches two numbers. It doesn't happen all the time, but it's not rare enough to be noteworthy.
It always amazes me that people think something like that happening proves that the result isn't a normal result of probability, but they think that they've got any chance at all of winning more than a few bucks when they buy a ticket or ten.
The lottery may not be a tax on stupid people, but there are an awful lot of lottery players who wouldn't be the sharpest thing in a bag of cotton balls.
It's difficult to tell what LP members want out of the jackpot games let alone millions of players that bought and are buying tickets in the huge jackpots. If it was up to me, I'd create games like Cash Winfall when the jackpot reached a certain amount, future drawings would roll the excess money back to the secondary prizes. The roll over opens the doors for the MIT people, but lotteries could either set limits preventing them from monopolising lottery terminals or set up terminals where they could purchase any amount of tickets.
Race track terminals are programmed so a player can make one bet on one ticket and cover all the combos he wants. Players don't have to break down horse racing's pick 3, pick 4, pick 5, and pick 6 into dozens of bets, players simply give the number of the horses the want from each race. If lottery terminals offered full wheels, it would save filling out lots of play slips.
"There are an awful lot of lottery players who wouldn't be the sharpest thing in a bag of cotton balls."
But we have as least two people here saying "I hope this individual is smart and prepared" and for some reason they didn't agree when I said "lots of jackpot winners are stupid and unprepared.
They probably never heard of David Edwards or some the 20 other lottery winners who lost it all.
For those saying that lotteries "should" do this or that instead of the way they are, there are plenty of lottery options out there from which to choose. Mega Millions and Powerball are designed for a specific purpose, and what we're seeing this week demonstrates they're getting exactly what they want. If they were modified to prevent the ginormous jackpots we're experiencing and instead making those dollars available to the lesser prizes, then we wouldn't be getting people throwing their money in it at the levels we're seeing, so it would be self-defeating. The people - through their dollars - are telling the lotteries exactly what they want, and that's a shot at really, really big paydays. My 2¢, worth every penny you paid for it.
Been on this board for a hot minute now. This is how some members cope with losing. Some never post a comment until the JPs are astronomical so that in itself tells you everything you need to know. I stopped debating the obvious.
I am here for the entertainment.... When's the clothing optional part of the program starting ?
It didn't start, yet? Oops!
The reason there are so many lottery games is because the lottery people listened their players saying "you should do this or that". And when those lottery people figure out having two games with only one winning ticket on a monster jackpot is one too many, they will change one of those games.
Probably won't get any information from the SC winner like does he play MM every drawing, how many tickets, and how long have they played so will never know.
LOL...you mean.....you didn't start it already?
Congrats to the BIG WINNER OR WINNERS. I'm glad someone hit it, cause the lines at the stores are terrible, when you are only trying to buy other things. Glad they can remain annoumus. Now all they got to do is keep there mouth shut. Don't tell your best friend, if so the world will soon know.
News like this, would be very hard for me to remain anonymous (although it would be for my good) lol. I'll have to tell someone, my blessing.
Well, the winner is a young man in his twentys may he be surrounded by those with the wisdom to safeguard his money. Since it is a very small town, the townspeople will know who it is.