If you win any kind of lottery, you can count yourself fortunate.

If you win the $1,5 billion (around R21,2 billion) Mega Millions jackpot, securing America’s largest jackpot payout to a single winner ever, then that’s basically your life allotment of good vibes used up in one go.

The winning ticket was actually purchased in October last year, at a KC Mart outlet in Simpsonville, South Carolina (pictured below), although the winner only came forward earlier this week.

Here’s the Washington Post:

The South Carolina Lottery announced Monday that the winner, who elected to remain anonymous, will be given a one-time payment of $878 million — the largest jackpot payout to a single winner ever, the lottery organization said…

“The winner marvels at how every decision made that day brought the winner to the store, at that very moment, to make the Quick Pick Mega Millions lottery ticket purchase,” the lottery organization said in a news release.

The organization said the winner’s good luck was a result of a “simple act of kindness.”

“The winner even allowed a fellow customer to make a Mega Millions lottery ticket purchase in front of the winner while in line at the store,” the organization said.

Sure, but when I let someone in front of me at the Spar, they decide they want to pay every water and electricity bill they’ve received in the past six months.

It’s probably going to be tough for the winner to remain anonymous, given that there are only 22 000 in Simpsonville. My advice? Don’t give a TV interview where you don’t show your face, but speak on camera, like our R232 million PowerBall winner did last week.

The store that sold the ticket scores a $50 000 bonus, and the state of South Carolina lands $61 million in income tax from the winner, so they’re not the only one going home happy.

At last, the great mystery has been put to bed:

The long delay for the winner to step forward for the South Carolina prize had stoked months of speculation: Had the ticker purchaser died? Were they not aware that they had won? Would the prize never be claimed?

Winners have to claim the prize within 180 days, putting the deadline at the end of April…

“We are delighted that the winner is a South Carolinian and has come forward to claim this remarkable prize,” Hogan Brown, the state lottery commission’s executive director, said in a statement. “We respect the winner’s decision to remain anonymous, and we will honor the winner’s wishes.”

I’m not delighted – I’m just plain jealous, and I’m not afraid to admit it.

Here’s a fun game – get your boss to buy some tickets for the office here, on a site that lets you play lottos from around the world, and then haggle over who gets what.

It’s a surefire way to spice up the day.

[source:washpost]