PICTURED: The drab country gas station that sold winning
$1.54 billion Mega Millions jackpot ticket
- KC Mart in Simpsonville, South Carolina sold winning Mega Millions ticket
- The rural convenience store is down a country road from a Baptist church
- Store owner CJ Patel will get $30,000, which he says he’ll split among his staff
- South Carolina allows winners to remain anonymous; no one has come forward
This is the drab roadside gas station that sold a small slip of paper that is now worth $1.54 billion.
The KC Mart in Simpsonville, South Carolina sold the ticket that matched all six numbers for Tuesday’s blockbuster Mega Millions drawing, lottery officials said on Wednesday morning.
The store, at a lonely rural junction 15 miles outside of Greenville in the northwest part of the state, was mobbed by media and looky-loos as lottery representatives strung up a banner reading ‘Luck Struck Here!’
Shop owner CJ Patel estimates that after taxes he’ll get about $30,000 for selling the lucky ticket – state law caps the payout to shopkeepers at $50,000.
The store, at a lonely rural junction 15 miles outside of Greenville in the northwest part of the state, is just down the road from a Baptist church (file photo)
South Carolina Education Lottery COO Tony Cooper (left) and KC Mart owner CJ Patel (right) speak to reporters on Wednesday about the winning ticket sold at the store
Patel tells the Greenville News that he plans to split his cut among the store’s four employees.
‘Hopefully it will bring us more business,’ Patel said of selling the lucky ticket.
South Carolina allows lottery winners to remain anonymous, and so far no one has come forward to claim the jackpot. Patel said he was unable to offer any clues.
‘I have no clue. No idea. We had a lot of customers yesterday, so I have no idea,’ he said, fending off questions about the lucky winner’s identity.
Some KC Mart customers on Wednesday were hoping some Mega Millions luck would rub off as they played the Powerball.
‘Sell me another lucky one. Now I know y’all have it!’ Chase Hatcher said, trading smiles across the counter with Jee and Twinkle Patel.
South Carolina is one of eight states – along with Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas – where winners can remain anonymous. The winner also has up to 180 days to claim the prize.
Media camp outstide the he KC Mart in Simpsonville, South Carolina, on Wednesday after it was announced the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket was purchased at the store
It appears that thus far no one has claimed the prize, with anxious officials sending out at tweet on Wednesday morning pleading with the winner to contact them.
‘Our message to the $1.5 BILLION #Mega Millions jackpot winner: Sign the back of the ticket, place the ticket in a safe location, speak with a trusted advisor and CALL THE LOTTERY at 1-866-736-9819,’ the tweet read. ‘Take a deep breath and enjoy the moment!’
The prize is extraordinary by any measure, but particularly so for South Carolina, where it would be enough for an exceedingly generous winner to shower roughly $307 on each of the state’s five million people.
It’s about as much as 20 percent of the $8 billion that state lawmakers have to spend each year.
An earlier Mega Millions estimate of $1.6 billion would have been a world record for lotteries, but actual sales came in below the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot prize shared by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee in January of 2016.
A customer, who did not want to be identified, displays the $200 worth of Mega Millions tickets he bought at Downtown Plaza convenience store in Oklahoma City on Tuesday
‘The final total was less than the $1.6 billion estimate,’ confirmed Carol Gentry, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Lottery, which leads a consortium of state lotteries participating in the Mega Millions jackpot.
‘Estimates are based on historical patterns,’ she explained Wednesday morning in a phone interview.
‘The jackpot’s been rolling since it was hit in July in California, but there are few precedents for a jackpot of this size. Typically, about 70 percent of sales occur on the drawing day, so forecasting precise numbers in advance can be difficult. That’s why we always use the term estimate.’
The ticket is worth about $877.8 million in a lump-sum cash payment, which most winners choose to take, rather than collect the full amount in annual payments over three decades.
The Mega Millions jackpot is now $1.6 billion—here’s who won the 5 biggest US lottery prizes ever
Although investing is one of the smartest ways to grow your wealth, it’s not the only way. A lucky few become instant multimillionaires thanks to the lottery.
If you want to take a chance on joining them, Tueday’s Mega Millions jackpotis now $1.6 billion, the highest jackpot ever.
Lottery winners can choose to receive the money in either an annuity — annual allotments over 30 years — or to get it all at once in a single payment for a smaller amount. For example, the lump sum on the $1.6 billion jackpot would be $904.9 million, according to lottery site USAMega.com. If a single winner takes the single payment, the federal tax withholding would be over $217.2 million. Then, there can be state taxes too.
Still, not too shabby for buying a $2 ticket.
Here are the top five prizes ever won.
1. $1.586 billion (Powerball)
There were three winning tickets for history’s biggest prize, which was drawn on Jan. 13, 2016, according to CNN Money.
John and Lisa Robinson in Tennessee, Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt in Florida and Marvin and Mae Acosta in California all had the option of roughly $533 million before taxes as an annuity or $327.8 million as the lump-sum payment.
The Robinsons’ winning ticket was one of four they bought at a grocery store, they tell NBC’s TODAY show. They opted to take the lump sum. “We’re not guaranteed tomorrow,” says John.
In Florida, Smith and Kaltschmidt also picked the lump sum. At the time they planned to get massages, upgrade their truck and retire with the newfound wealth, according to NBC.
The Acostas remained anonymous for months after winning, but released a statement saying they were thankful for the “rare gift that has been placed in our care.”
2. $758.7 million (Powerball)
Mavis L. Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts, claimed the winning ticket for the $758.7 million Powerball jackpot in August of 2017. Shortly after, she called up her employer at Mercy Medical Center, where she had worked for 32 years, and quit.
“I’ve called them and told them I will not be coming back,” she told NBC.
She decided to take the lump sum for the prize, accepting $480.5 millionbefore taxes.
3. $656 million (Mega Millions)
In March 2012, Mega Millions also had three winning tickets.
Illinois winners Merle and Patricia Butler claimed $218.6 million of the winnings.
In Maryland, a state that allows lottery winners to remain anonymous, three school employees claimed their share under the name “The Three Amigos.”
The third winner in Kansas remains anonymous.
4. $648 million (Mega Millions)
Ira Curry of Georgia and Steve Tran of California both won the December 2013 Mega Millions lottery.
Tran called his boss to say “I don’t think I’m going to come in today, tomorrow or ever,” according to NBC Bay Area. Jennifer’s Gift Shop, where Tran bought several tickets, received $1 million for selling the winner — a perk given in several states.
Curry bought her tickets as a last-minute decision and selected a combination of family birthdays and her lucky number seven.
Both went with the lump sum option of $173 million.
5. $590.5 million (Powerball)
In May 2013, Gloria Mackenzie in Florida won a jackpot worth about $590 million, at the time making history as the biggest jackpot to be won by only one person. She chose to receive the one-time payment of about $370 million before taxes.
“It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person,” one of her neighbors toldNBC.
