Winnings on Lotteries in the US
People from across 42 states including the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia in the US participate in the Powerball lottery. So what are the biggest winners in US Lottery history?
2012 in the states of Maryland, Illinois, and Kansas there were three people who won the largest jackpot in Lottery history. The win totaled $656 Million and was split between the three winners, no doubtable changing their lives forever.
Zephyrhills, Florida, a 26 year old woman was the winner for the second biggest prize awarded ever. The Powerball numbers will bulled on Saturday May 2013 and the winnings totaled over $590 million. Her lucky numbers were 13, 10, 14, 52 and 22 and purchased at her local supermarket.
Lotteries are typically paid in one of two ways and if you live in New Jersey, Georgia, or Texas you must select your payment option in advance. Winners must choose to be paid one lump sum or 30 graduated yearly installments, which increase 5% annually. Should the winner select a one time cash payment they are paid out the approximate present value of the winnings.
Out of all the participants only California prohibits the use of a multiplier. The multiplier increases the cost of the tickets from $1 to $2 and is called “The Megaplier”. The Megaplier doubles the jackpot winnings.
Depending on where you live winners have 180 or 365 days to claim prizes so it’s important to know your state rules. Drawling are typically done live in Atlanta, GA however there have been some large jackpots filmed in New York’s Time Square.
The lottery also helps funding in public schools. Now while there is controversy on how some states distribute the funds, in California alone public schools have received over 24 billion dollars since the inception in 1985.