Thread: Massachusetts Hospital Worker Claims Record $758.7M Lottery Jackpot

BRAINTREE, MASS. —
A 53-year-old Massachusetts hospital worker stepped forward Thursday to claim the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in U.S. history — $758.7 million — after breaking the news to her employer the way the rest of us only dream of: "I called and told them I will not be coming back."

"The first thing I want to do is just sit back and relax," Mavis L. Wanczyk told reporters at a news conference.

Wanczyk chose to take a lump-sum payment of $480 million, or $336 million after taxes, lottery officials said. Winners who take a gradual payout stand to get more money spread out over several decades.

The previous evening, she recalled, she was leaving work with a firefighter and remarked, "It's never going to be me. It's just a pipe dream that I've always had."

Then she read the number on her ticket and realized she had won.

Wanczyk has two adult children, a daughter and a son.

The jackpot is the second-largest U.S. lottery prize, ahead of a $656 million Mega Millions prize won by three people in 2012. But Wednesday's big prize is still dwarfed by a $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot divided among three winners in January 2016.

The announcement that a winner had come forward came after a turbulent morning in which lottery officials initially misidentified not only the store that sold the winning ticket, but the town.

The lottery corrected the site where the single winning ticket was sold to Chicopee, Massachusetts. Overnight, it had mistakenly announced the winning ticket was sold at a shop in Watertown, just outside Boston.

But shortly before 8 a.m., the lottery said it had made a mistake, and that the winning ticket was sold at the Pride Station & Store in Chicopee, about halfway across the state. Reporters had descended on the Watertown store hours before it opened around 6:30 a.m.

Massachusetts Lottery Executive Director Michael Sweeney said officials were manually recording the names of the retailers that sold the winning ticket and transcribed it incorrectly. Sweeney issued an apology for the confusion created by the error, but said lottery staff remained thrilled that a jackpot-winning ticket and two $1 million winning tickets had been sold in Massachusetts — one of those at the Watertown location.

Mike Donatelli, a spokesman for the Pride Station & Store in Chicopee, said the store was notified shortly before 8 a.m. that it had actually sold the record jackpot ticket.

Sweeney said the store would pocket $50,000 for selling the jackpot winner. Bob Bolduc, owner of the Pride store chain, said the proceeds would be donated to local charities.

"The phone started ringing at 8 o'clock," Bolduc said. "We were as surprised as everybody else. We're happy for our customer, and we're happy for the charities."

The lucky numbers from Wednesday night's drawing were 6, 7, 16, 23 and 26, and the Powerball number was 4.

Powerball is played in 44 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, all of which collectively oversee the game. Drawings are held twice a week. Five white balls are drawn from a drum containing 69 balls and one red ball is selected from a drum with 26 balls. Players can choose their numbers or let a computer make random choices.

https://www.voanews.com/a/massachuse...t/3999364.html

Good on her but I cant help thinking it would be better to give 758 people 1m each.

^I was thinking the same thing. That is an awful lot of money to give a single person.

Wanczyk chose to take a lump-sum payment of $480 million, or $336 million after taxes, lottery officials said. Winners who take a gradual payout stand to get more money spread out over several decades.

I don't understand this part of it. I mean that I get you can choose a lump sum or take an annuity, but why is the lump sum smaller than the advertised total?

They promote and sell these jackpots as being worth $XXXXX but then don't actually pay that much out?

758-336=? Is this enough for The Wall?

Originally Posted by Lantern

Good on her but I cant help thinking it would be better to give 758 people 1m each.

Agree. I wrote to the NZ Lotteries Commission when they were calling on submissions for changes to the Lotto.
In NZ the top prize jackpots each week it's not won, but when it reaches a cap (20 million at that time) it's a must win situation and is divided up among the second division winners.
For NZ, 20 mill is more than enough. I argued that 10 mill is ample and that spreading out a lower amount not only makes more people plenty comfortable, it's therefore better for the country's economy as a whole.
They replied that smaller jackpots don't sell as well, and raised the jackpot cap to 40 mill.

quote from a Boston newspaper

By choosing to take the lump sum payment, the federal government will take $120,125,000 of Wanczyk's winnings, or 25 percent, and Massachusetts will take an additional $24,025,000 of the payout, or 5 percent, leaving her with over $336 million.
If Wanczyk opted to go the annual payment route, she would have received $25.29 million per year before taxes. She would have paid $6.3 million in federal taxes and $1.26 million in state taxes annually for 30 years, leaving her with a payout of $17.7 million each year, or $531 million after 30 years.

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

Wanczyk chose to take a lump-sum payment of $480 million, or $336 million after taxes, lottery officials said. Winners who take a gradual payout stand to get more money spread out over several decades.

I don't understand this part of it. I mean that I get you can choose a lump sum or take an annuity, but why is the lump sum smaller than the advertised total?

They promote and sell these jackpots as being worth $XXXXX but then don't actually pay that much out?

I think the small print says the full amount is paid, but in installments over decades, but the winner can opt for a lump sum which is obviously a lower amount because of interest etc. It's the converse of a discount for cash.

I think I'd take the annuity. Over 20 years that's 38 mill per year. This woman's interest on her lump sum will be about 5 mill.


^ Ahhh, 30 years. OK. Yep, still looks like the better option.

Do they still do those 'Big Wednesday' things in NZ?

I remember seeing the prize pool for that once and it looked pretty impressive. Not so much cash-wise but car, boat and even a bach I think.

Originally Posted by Maanaam

30 years. OK. Yep, still looks like the better option.

At the age of 53?

Don't think I'd be sweating it.

^ Yeh, it doesn't.



I had a couple of tickets in that race. Still waiting to hear back if I won at least....a free ticket.

Even with investments winning, would take the annuity.

Short of the world transforming into hell after some cataclysm, you'd be setting future family members up for many generations.

Originally Posted by bsnub

The lump sum is 50% and it is just an option. If you want the full sum you take the annuity but almost nobody does.

OK cheers gotcha.

I'd misunderstood it and thought that the annuity totaled less than the winning amount as well.

Originally Posted by hick

I had a couple of tickets in that race. Still waiting to hear back if I won at least....a free ticket.

Same here! Thank misskit for sending our dreams crashing back down to earth.

Originally Posted by hick

Short of the world transforming into hell after some cataclysm, you'd be setting future family members up for many generations.

Far more than that man. You could own and maintain a private jet, yacht, and mansions on every major continent.

That said I bet this women will stay in a small house and still shop at walmart.

We'll get another chance.

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

Do they still do those 'Big Wednesday' things in NZ?

I remember seeing the prize pool for that once and it looked pretty impressive. Not so much cash-wise but car, boat and even a bach I think.

No, they do Lotto and Powerball Saturdays and Wednesdays.
I still buy a ticket online each week, but have stopped doing Powerball. Be happy with a mill, don't need to decrease my chances at double the price for Powerball. It's 10 mill tomorrow. Jackpots to 40 where it becomes a must win and if no 1st division winner, all the 2nd divisions share it. I buy then because the chances are better.

She'd have had to won the lottery for me to plug it. I have standards.

Originally Posted by bsnub

I bet this women will stay in a small house and still shop at walmart.

Why would you bet on that?

How would that combine with the prediction of personal disaster you made for her earlier?

Have you met her or something?

Simply can't imagine that much money. If I won even one million, I wouldn't know what to do with it other than put it in the bank for wife and kids. Not much I really want/need.

Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton

Simply can't imagine that much money. If I won even one million, I wouldn't know what to do with it other than put it in the bank for wife and kids. Not much I really want/need.

You could give me $25,000.

You would do that, wouldn't you?

Originally Posted by Cold Pizza

You could give me $25,000.

You would do that, wouldn't you?

25,000 dollars? Shit, I'd like to think most of us here could do that.

But, we won't.

Money is the root of all evil.
Money can't buy you love.
Now millions of reasons to do her in.
Um, um, so there!
Ow, why can't I win anything!
I hate her.
Who cares.
Next thread.
Arghhhhhhhhhh

Originally Posted by Wilsonandson

the love of money is the root of all evil.

ftfy...

Originally Posted by Maanaam

They replied that smaller jackpots don't sell as well

Single figure millions is a life changing amount of money for 99% of folk.

These billionaire prizes are silly.

Instead of one person that prize could have been split 100 ways.

The probability of winning would also be increased by 2 orders of magnitude if it was split.

But sadly probabilities are not something on the radar of lottery ticket buyers.

They only see big numbers after the $ signs and buy when it is high.

Originally Posted by bsnub

Far more than that man. You could own and maintain a private jet, yacht, and mansions on every major continent.

You forgot to mention the mistresses.....in fact, entire seraglios !