'The winnings alone are 1.75 trillion won, where is the jackpot winner?'
While the third-largest jackpot in American lottery history has been created, the protagonist who will win it has not appeared for more than two weeks, raising curiosity.
On July 29, local time, the Mega Millions 1st prize lottery confirmed to have been sold in Illinois, USA was 13, 36, 45, 57, 67 and bonus number 14, and the cumulative winnings alone were 1.337 billion. It is equivalent to US dollars (about 1.7 trillion won).
One person who bought it at a gas station in Des Plains outside Chicago won the jackpot, but as of the 18th, he has not appeared for over two weeks.
The deadline for receiving the winnings is one year from the date of winning, and it is known that there has not been a single case of not receiving the Mega Millions winnings for the past 16 years.
If there is no winner, it will be the largest unclaimed lottery jackpot in U.S. history.
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According to the Mega Millions website, if a winner does not appear, the full amount of the prize goes to the state that issued it, which can be used for its own purposes.
In the case of Illinois, the Illinois Lottery spokesperson explained that the fund would become part of the Illinois Common School Fund to support K-12 education.
There are two options for receiving your winnings.
Over the next 29 years, you could receive your winnings in the form of an annuity or choose the cash option to receive $780.5 million in one go.
So far, the majority of winners have opted for the cash option.
However, the actual winnings are less than that, as the winner must pay a minimum of 24% (30% for foreigners) federal taxes, as well as taxes levied by states and municipalities.
On the other hand, in the Mega Millions lottery, you have to guess all 6 numbers, including 5 winning numbers and 1 bonus number, to win the first prize, so the probability of winning is only 1 in 325 million.
The lottery is sold in 45 states, Washington, DC and Virginia.