Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Mar 31, 2023

Ticket bought in Illinois wins $1.337B Mega Millions jackpot

A single ticket bought in a Chicago suburb beat the odds and won a $1.337 billion Mega Millions jackpot.

According to megamillions.com, there was one jackpot-winning ticket in the draw Friday night, and it was bought at a Speedway gas station and convenience store in Des Plaines.

The winning numbers were: 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball: 14.

“We are thrilled to have witnessed one of the biggest jackpot wins in Mega Millions history,” Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald, the current Lead Director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement on the lottery’s website. “We’re eager to find out who won and look forward to congratulating the winner soon!”

The jackpot was the nation’s third-largest lottery prize. It grew so large because no one had matched the game’s six selected numbers since April 15. That’s 29 consecutive draws without a jackpot winner.

Lottery officials had estimated the winning take at $1.28 billion, but revised the number up to $1.337 billion on Saturday.

The total prize is for winners who choose the annuity option, paid annually over 29 years. Most winners opt for the cash option, which for Friday night’s drawing was an estimated $780.5 million.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million.

According to the Illinois Lottery, the store that sold the ticket is a pretty big winner, too; it will receive half a million dollars just for selling the ticket. A clerk at the Speedway store who answered the phone but declined to give his name said the store had not been officially notified that it sold the winning ticket and that he learned about it from reporters calling for comment.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The game is coordinated by state lotteries.

Illinois is among the states where winners of more than $250,000 can choose to not reveal their names and Illinois Lottery spokeswoman Emilia Mazur said the vast majority of those winners do just that.

Even lottery officials may not know for a while who won because winners don’t have to come forward straight away. And the winning ticket may have been bought by a group of people.

“We won’t know whether it’s an individual or it’s a lottery pool until the winner comes forward to claim their prize,” National Mega Millions spokeswoman Danielle Frizzi-Babb said.

As of Saturday afternoon, no winner had come forward, according to Mazur.

Emily Irwin, managing director, Advice & Planning, at Wells Fargo’s Wealth & Investment Management, said Friday that the winner should consider keeping a low profile and resist going on an eyebrow-raising spending spree that everyone knows the winner cannot afford.

“This is not the time to start calling everybody you know, saying, ‘Hey, I have a big secret. Can you keep it?’” Irwin said.

This is necessary to avoid being inundated with requests for money.

“There are scammers and others who follow big winners,” she said, admitting that sudden wealth can put a lottery winner in physical danger.

“Privacy equals safety,” she said.

One thing the winner must do immediately is sign the ticket. That’s because if the ticket hasn’t been signed then it really isn’t yours. If the winner loses an unsigned ticket and another person finds it and signs it, the ticket now belongs to them.

Irwin suggests a step further to survive a legal battle over ownership.

“Take a Polaroid of you holding it and (put) it in a safe deposit box or somewhere else safe,” she said.

Pratik Patel, the head of Family Wealth Strategies at BMO Family Office in Chicago, said the winner should work with a financial planner to map out their future.

“I would run a Monte Carlo market simulation,” Patel said, explaining that this is an analysis of what a winner’s annual income might be and what the proceeds from various investments might be. “What you’re doing is using analytics to inform your spending.”

Frizzi-Babb agrees that talking to a financial planner is a good idea.

“I would suggest that you do that before you even set foot in a lottery office,” she said.

One expert who has worked with past lottery winners says the winners should avoid going to the lottery office altogether, instead sending an attorney or financial adviser to preserve their anonymity — if lottery officials allow.

“There are going to be people doing everything they can to figure out who the winner is,” said Kim Kamin, who was a trusts and estates attorney for 17 years and now teaches estate planning at Northwestern University’s law school. “There are going to be many eyes watching.”

There is also a question nobody wants to answer at that particular time: What happens to the money when you die?

Irwin said don’t leave this unanswered; you must take action to ensure the bulk of your estate goes to your beneficiaries rather than the government.

“You need a manager who specializes in this and understands this world,” said Patel. “Someone making $60,000 a year might need a certain type of professional manager and they may want to switch to someone who does ultra wealth.”

Whatever the winner does, it is important to do it slowly.

“You can absolutely indulge but let’s be smart about it,” Patel said. “It’s a lot of money but until you figure out what you can afford, there are still limitations.”

For example, he said, consider chartering a private jet before diving in and buying one.

“You may be interested in owning your favorite basketball team,” he warned, “but maybe that isn’t a good idea if it uses up all your money.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
Close
0:00
0:00
Don’t Dismiss China’s Peacemaking Bid
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
Father obliterates council members following viral TikTok of biological male masturbating in women’s bathroom..
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
BVI Freedom Song
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
Nashville style execution
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
“We've had evidence prior to the pandemic that masks were largely ineffective at preventing community transmission of influenza “
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz:
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz rejects being labeled a "billionaire"
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
Jamie Dimon is being deposed over JPMorgan Chase role in Epstein lawsuits
Hello Dolly
This is how an electric car saves all the energy that he would have spent if he had lived 50 years longer.
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
Brand new security footage has just been released to the public showing the Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
Social Media censoring users for saying the true
Yes He Can
Smart Iranian fashion designer teaching dummy TV anchors lesson about reality
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
AMERICA, 2023
Unforgettable
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Touch The Hem Of His Garment
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
The Lord's Prayer
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
THE GOD MOVEMENT...BEAUTIFUL BVI
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
Siyahamba
UK: Humza Yousaf replaces Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister in Scotland
Ray Charles And The Voices Of Jubilaton, Oh, Happy Day
In a dramatic U-turn against His Government: Judicial Reform Legislation Must Be Halted, Says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
Ramblin' Rose
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Protoje - Who Knows ft. Chronixx
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
Pressure - Virgin Islands Nice
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Phil Wickham - House Of The Lord
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
My God Is Real (Yes, God Is Real)
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
The Lion King Circle of Life by LEBO M. — LIVE at the HAVASI Symphonic
Home Secretary Suella Braverman tours potential migrant housing in Rwanda as asylum deal remains mired in legal challenges
Louis Armstrong - When The Saints Go Marching In
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
Kanye West Sunday Service - hallelujah, salvation, and glory
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Jonathan Nelson - I Believe (Island Medley
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
From The Virgin Islands Sqad Up
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
Common, John Legend - Glory
Jeremy Hunt insists his Budget will get young parents and over-50s back into work
Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell - If I Ain't Got You
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
Nashville police officer, and a female driver shooting one another
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
BVI Freedom Song
Mexican President Claims Mexico is Safer than the U.S.
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
A brief banking situation report
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
Lady bites police officer and gets instantly reaction
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Hello Dolly
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has apologized, but not resigned, yet, following the disruption of sports programmes over the weekend
Yes He Can
A Mississippian man, who was once considered a “ticking time bomb,” has lost a whopping 165 kilograms! What motivated this incredible transformation?
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
Unforgettable
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
Touch The Hem Of His Garment
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
The Lord's Prayer
Fitness scam
THE GOD MOVEMENT...BEAUTIFUL BVI
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Siyahamba
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Ray Charles And The Voices Of Jubilaton, Oh, Happy Day
×