Who’s sitting on a billion-dollar secret? Lottery officials in New Jersey are looking for the person who won a huge lottery prize.
In March, someone won $1.13 billion in the Mega Millions lottery jackpot in March. But so far, no one has come forward to claim the money.1
Missing Ticket or Forgotten Fortune?
It’s a mystery why the winner hasn’t claimed the prize yet. Maybe they don’t know they won, or maybe they lost the ticket. It’s also possible they just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
If the winner doesn’t claim the prize by next March, they will lose all the money. That’s a lot of money to leave on the table! If no one claims the prize, the money will be returned to the states that participated in the lottery. Each state will use the money for different things.
Incredible Odds, Life-Changing Money
Winning the lottery was a one in 302.6 million chance.(ref) It’s hard to imagine what the winner could do with all that money. They could choose to get the full amount over 30 years or take a smaller amount in cash right away.
Lottery officials are asking the winner to come forward. They suggest signing the ticket, talking to a financial advisor, and then claiming the prize.
The winner can choose to stay anonymous. In New Jersey, winners can claim their prize without revealing their name. However, the state will still announce that the prize has been claimed.
Breaking the Winless Streak
The March win ended a long winless streak for Mega Millions. No one had won the jackpot for four months before this lucky ticket was purchased.
The winning ticket was purchased at a liquor store in Neptune Township, New Jersey. This town is located near the beach and is a popular tourist destination.
The Cash vs. Annuity Trap
The headline-grabbing billion-dollar lottery jackpots might seem like an instant path to unimaginable wealth, but there’s a catch.
The advertised amounts, like the world record $1.6 billion Mega Millions and $620 million Powerball, are only attainable if you choose an annuity, a series of payments spread out over 29 years. But, nearly every winner opts for the immediate cash option instead.
While still life-changing sums, the cash options are smaller than the advertised jackpots: $904 million for Mega Millions and $354.3 million for Powerball. Yet, these less glamorous figures aren’t the ones plastered across billboards and lottery ads.(ref)
So, will the winner ever come forward? Only time will tell.
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Nancy Maffia
Nancy received a bachelor’s in biology from Elmira College and a master’s degree in horticulture and communications from the University of Kentucky. Worked in plant taxonomy at the University of Florida and the L. H. Bailey Hortorium at Cornell University, and wrote and edited gardening books at Rodale Press in Emmaus, PA. Her interests are plant identification, gardening, hiking, and reading.