The winner of a $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot was claimed in Florida on Wednesday, more than a month after the lottery announced a lucky ticket holder won the jackpot, the third-biggest ever in the U.S., though the winning ticket holder will take home less than a third of that after taxes are deducted.
A winning Mega Millions lottery ticket was claimed for $1.6 billion.
Lottery officials said the winner, whose name was kept anonymous, claimed the prize on Monday, within the 60-day threshold of the lottery drawing to claim the prize as a lump sum.
Mega Millions announced on August 9 that a winning ticket matched all six numbers for the $1.58 billion jackpot, beating the astronomical 1-in-302.6 million odds of winning the jackpot, and making it the biggest Mega Millions jackpot and the third biggest U.S. lottery jackpot of all time, behind only a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot claimed last November and a $1.59 billion Powerball jackpot that was split between three ticket holders in January 2016.
The ticket holder will only bank a fraction of that dollar figure, however, after federal taxes are deducted, including a federal marginal rate up to 37% that would decrease the cash value to just over $493 million.
The winner, whose ticket was purchased at a Publix grocery store in Neptune Beach, Florida, has the option of receiving that money as an up-front lump sum or in 30 annual installments, the less popular choice among lottery winners.
$850 million. That’s the size of the Powerball jackpot, which is slated for its next drawing at 10:59 p.m. on Wednesday.
Powerball Jackpot Hits $835 Million—Here’s How Much The Winner Will Take Home After Taxes (Forbes)