Curious Floridians may be scrutinizing their neighbors’ spending habits a little more closely after it was announced that the unidentified winner of the August 8 Mega Millions jackpot had stepped forward to collect the prize.
The $1.6 billion jackpot was the second-largest jackpot ever won in U.S. history and the fifth jackpot of more than a billion dollars. It was the seventh Mega Millions jackpot won this year and the largest jackpot in the history of the Mega Millions game. The record for the largest jackpot ever won — $2.04 billion — was claimed in California in the rival Powerball lottery game in November 2022.
The Mega Millions winning ticket was purchased at a Publix grocery store in Neptune Beach, Florida, but other details about the winner and the chosen prize option are under wraps for now.
Although state law requires that the Florida Lottery disclose information about its winners — including the person’s name and city of residence — to any third party who requests it, a new law enacted last year gives winners of $250,000 or more a grace period.
Winners of such large prizes are “temporarily exempt from public disclosure for 90 days from the date the prize is claimed unless otherwise waived by the winner,” reported The Palm Beach Post. The winner claimed the jackpot on September 25, so the Florida Lottery will be able to reveal the winner’s name on Christmas Day.
The jackpot winner had the option of accepting the entire prize amount of $1.6 billion paid out in a 30-year annuity or taking $794.2 million in a lump sum cash payment. It is unclear at this time which option the winner chose.
Lottery earnings are subject to federal and state taxes based on where the winning ticket was purchased. Florida, like Texas, does not have a state income tax requirement.
The Mega Millions game is a multi-jurisdictional lottery game available in 45 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets cost $2 per play, with an optional $1 multiplier for non-jackpot winnings.
Mega Millions drawings are held every Tuesday and Saturday, and the current jackpot sits at an estimated $267 million. The odds of matching all five white balls plus the gold Mega Ball to win the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350.
