WINNING WAYS
‘Baloney is more important,’ says Mega Millions winner who won $1 million but lost $50,000 before he even got his money
A Powerball prize worth $1 million is expiring today
A SINGLE father won the lottery after buying a Mega Millions ticket, but he couldn't keep all the loot.
Brant Edgington, of Nebraska, said he would only play lottery games when the jackpot ramped up.
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"I don’t play all that often," he told Nebraska Lottery.
"As a single parent, baloney is more important, financially."
His dad and grandfather are avid Powerball and Mega Millions fans though.
Edgington decided on a whim to buy a Mega Millions ticket during a food run at Baker’s in Fremont, about an hour northeast of Lincoln.
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MEGA MONEY
He used Quick Pick for the March 22 drawing and matched all five white balls: 3, 8, 31, 35, and 44, while missing 16 for the Mega ball.
The next day he checked his ticket with a Check-a-Ticket scanner and asked a clerk to help him.
"They disappeared for a minute. Then a different lady came up with her and they just stared at me," he said.
"She told me, 'Don't pass out when I tell you this.'"
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After she revealed he was a million-dollar winner, Edgington went to Nebraska Lottery headquarters in Lincoln on April 5.
He soon discovered a considerable chunk of his prize would vanish.
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TAXED CASH
Like all major lottery winners, Edgington faced federal and state tax deductions when it came time to claim the money.
According to the Nebraska Lottery, state taxes are automatically withheld by 5% for prizes over $5,000.
That means he had to cough up $50,000 of his winnings upfront.
Plus a federal tax is applied at a rate of 24%, so Edgington had to give up another $240,000.
How to play Mega Millions
Mega Millions is a drawing game that started in 1996. Players try to match numbers on their tickets with numbers on randomly drawn balls.
They choose five numbers between 1 and 70 for the drawn white balls and another number between 1 and 25 for the golden “Mega” ball. Mega Millions draws numbers every Tuesday and Friday.
There are several ways to win Mega Millions:
- Matching the mega ball alone wins $2.
- The mega ball plus one white ball wins $4.
- Any three balls win $10.
- Three white balls and the mega ball wins $200.
- Four white balls win $500.
- Four white balls and the mega ball wins $10,000.
- Five white balls win $1 million.
- Matching all five white balls and the mega ball wins the jackpot.
It isn't clear if the winner claimed his prize as a one-time lump sum or multiple annual payments.
If he opted for the lump sum, there's a possibility the $1 million prize dwindled even more.
POWER PRIZE
Today marks the last day before a Powerball prize worth $1 million expires.
The ticket from a drawing on October 14 matched five white balls and missed the Powerball.
While the winner hasn't yet come forward, they can still turn their fate into fortune but time is running out.
The ticket expires at 5 pm on April 11, and it was sold at a Turbeville Exxon gas station in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
It matched five white balls with a combination of 14, 16, 42, 48, and 64.
The U.S. Sun has more lottery coverage on the biggest jackpots.
Read More on The US Sun
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