Possible winner of $258 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot found

Sep 21, 2005, 12:35 pm (25 comments)

Mega Millions

Officials with the New Jersey Lottery on Wednesday announced that a person purported to be a legal representative for the winner of a massive Mega Millions drawing has come forward.

Lottery officials released few details, but said they were trying to verify the ticket was authentic.

Lottery officials also announced that the jackpot, originally believed to be worth $250 million, was actually valued at $258 million since ticket sales before the drawing Friday were larger than expected.

Besides being New Jersey's largest single-ticket jackpot, it is also the fifth-largest prize in the history of Mega Millions, which is played in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

AP

Comments

fja's avatarfja

hasn't even claimed the ticket and this person is already making money off of it....Go figure

Todd's avatarTodd

Huh?

fja's avatarfja

it went from 250 million to 258 million

JONMOJON

He or she doesn't stop having good luck.

By the way, good luck everyone for tonight's powerball draw.

fxsterling

N.J. is a tax free state

rundown99's avatarrundown99

Officials with the New Jersey Lottery on Wednesday announced that a person purported to be a legal representative for the winner of a massive Mega Millions drawing has come forward.

 

Can New Jersey lottery jackpot winners remain anonymous?

nitabug's avatarnitabug

Guys, I got a question. If a person wins MM in one state but lives in another what taxes do they pay? (excluding tax-free states) I live in KY but buy tickets in Ill.   Will I be taxed twice?

Chewie

Officials with the New Jersey Lottery on Wednesday announced that a person purported to be a legal representative for the winner of a massive Mega Millions drawing has come forward.

 

Can New Jersey lottery jackpot winners remain anonymous?

NOPE. The actual person has to fill out the claim form and tax form. You do not, however, have to hold a press conference. That's why you have a lawyer negotiate things up front. Get it all checked out, the paperwork filled out, and sneak in, sign things, then get out of town. There was a winner, recently, don't remember where, who agreed to have a picture taken in the back office, then headed for the hills, The press showed after he was gone. Minimum pre-planning and every one could do the same thing.

Chewie

Guys, I got a question. If a person wins MM in one state but lives in another what taxes do they pay? (excluding tax-free states) I live in KY but buy tickets in Ill.   Will I be taxed twice?

You'll have to check the laws. On Todds site, Maryland has a tax on out of state winners. I would imagine, unless you're awfully lucky, state tax is always applicable to your residence. There was a winner from Nj who won PB in PA, a few months ago. The article stated they paid no gambling tax in either state. I buy tickets in NY and just assume they will get their share. They always do!

Todd's avatarTodd

On the tax issue, if you bought in another state, you would normally pay an accumulated total of the highest of the two states. 

For example, you live in State A, but buy in State B.  State A has a 3% tax rate, State B has a 5% tax rate.  You would normally pay 3% to State A and 2% to State B, for a total of 5% (the higher of the two rates).

If your state has a higher rate than the state you bought it in, you will probably only pay taxes in your state.

I wonder if Jorli D has experience/expertise in this area?

getpaid

How does legal representation work? Hand over a jackpot ticket to another person in the name of anonymity?

Jorli D's avatarJorli D

MM and PB winning tickets have to be validated in the state of purchase.  That state takes the required federal taxes off the top, your home state will tax you on the state tax portion of your winnings.  There are no states free of income tax.  There ARE states that have no sales tax, but that has nothing to do with PB or MM.  You WILL pay state and federal taxes on lottery tickets.

Lurk More N00b's avatarLurk More N00b

^^^

I wonder about that, too. It seems that once you sign that ticket, all anonymity goes out the window. Perhaps you "Xerox" the holy hell out of your winning ticket before you hand it over in case your lawyer decides to start researching countries with which America has no extradition rights. I don't understand the whole anonymity thing anyway, as most lottery offices will release your name upon winning to prove that the program is legitimate. Is it just to keep exposure to a minimum?

                    I like the idea of keeping a big win quiet, though. I hate that there are unsavory characters that would start eyeing your family members and wondering how much you'd be willing to pay to get them back in one piece. I know, I'm a ghoul, but am I the only one who worries about that kind of thing?

Todd's avatarTodd

Well, Jorli, afraid that's not true.  If I won Mega Millions in New Jersey, I would not pay a dime of it to the state.  Only the Feds.  We have no tax on lottery prizes in NJ.  Same goes for several other states.  See the Mega Millions and Powerball Jackpot Analysis pages at USA Mega for a breakdown.

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