Winner of $400M Powerball may remain anonymous

0 0
Spread the love
Read Time:2 Minute, 27 Second
The winning ticket was sold at a Murphy Express store, seen here, in Lexington, S.C. (Photo: Lauren Talarico, WLTX-TV)Powerball's fourth-biggest jackpot winner hasn't stepped forward after hitting the winning numbers Wednesday night and may not ever be known to the general public.
 
The $399.4 million winning quick-pick ticket was sold at a Murphy Express gas station in Lexington, S.C., just hours before Wednesday's lottery drawing. But the winner could choose to remain anonymous because South Carolina, unlike some other states, does not require public identification of winners.
 
Whoever won will be about $223.3 million richer if they choose a lump sum payout. As an annuity, the jackpot would be worth about $13 million annually over 29 years.
 
Store manager Keith Wedmore tells USA TODAY that video camera security may have captured the nation's latest freshly-minted multi-millionaire, but he won't review tapes to see if they'll help reveal a winner.
 
"We're curious, but to me, they have a right to remain private. We just want to be decent about it,'' he says.
 
Wedmore, who was rousted at home by a 1:15 a.m. phone call from lottery officials, quickly showered, then returned to work, where he placed a sign urging ticket holders to check their numbers.
 
Just to be sure: they're 7-10-22-32-35 with the Powerball number 19. The store will receive $50,000 from the lottery and South Carolina will get up to $15 million in taxes. Wedmore says corporate officials will decide how the store's $50,000 will be allocated.
 
The ticket was one of 356 sold at the outlet, just outside Columbia, in the hours leading up to the Powerball's 11 p.m. drawing.
 
"I hope its someone local and a regular, but we have a lot of people who come in passing through on Interstate 20," says Wedmore.
 
The jackpot had rolled 11 times since Aug. 10 and had surged to $399.4 million when no one won Saturday's $317 million prize.
 
Odds of winning: 1 in 175.2 million.
 
While massive, the jackpot is nearly $200 million less than the all-time record $590 million Powerball jackpot won in May by 84-year-old Florida widow Gloria MacKenzie.
 
The previous record holder for a South Carolina Powerball jackpot, Solomon Jackson Jr., of Columbia, won $259 million in 2009.
 
"This is a life changing event for the winner – or winners – state lottery director Paula Harper Bethea says.
 
"There are a lot of zeroes in the amount of money this person or persons are going to get, and we want them to come at the right time after they have had what they need to make sure that this is a good situation for them,'' Bethea says.
 
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %

Facebook Comments

Previous post Pittsburgh Pirates on verge (finally) of MLB playoffs
Next post Putin says no discrimination of gays in Russia

Average Rating

5 Star
0%
4 Star
0%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.