Florida Mega Millions winner claims $1.6 billion prize from August
By Sara Smart, CNN
(CNN) — And the winner is … anonymous.
The lucky player who won the $1.6 billion Mega Millions prize last month has stepped forward to claim the winnings, the Florida Lottery told CNN.
The winning numbers were announced on August 8. The ticket was bought at a Publix supermarket in Neptune Beach.
The winner claimed the prize on Monday, a lottery spokesperson said. Officials did not disclose whether the recipient received a lump sum of about $794.2 million, or will take the full jackpot in annual payments. The winner had until 60 days after the drawing to take the former.
The $1.6 billion payoff is Mega Millions’ largest prize, according to the game’s website. The previous record, $1.537 billion, was won in South Carolina in 2018.
There’s some good news and bad news for the winner: The lottery will take out 24% in federal withholding, but Florida does not tax lottery winnings.
Per state law, the lottery winner will remain anonymous for 90 days after the day the prize was claimed, the Florida Lottery said.
For those who did not get lucky in Neptune, there’s still more cash to be won.
Wednesday night’s Powerball jackpot is an estimated $850 million.
The lottery’s grand prize grew from $785 million when no winner matched all six numbers Monday night. An $850 million jackpot would be the fourth-largest in the game’s history, according to Powerball.
The all-time largest lottery jackpot was a $2.04 billion Powerball prize won last year in California.
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