David Stevenson, a CPA in South Carolina, says he can't think of a good reason why whoever bought an enormous lottery ticket in tiny Simpsonville hasn't cashed in.
The Mega Millions ticket worth more than $1.5 billion was purchased in October. It will be worthless in about two months if no one comes forward to claim the cash.
"I could understand there might have been tax advantages to wait until 2019," Stevenson said Thursday. "But I see no purpose in waiting now. Honestly, I think it's lost."
The winner could walk into lottery headquarters and walk out with a lump sum payout of $878 million. That would also mean a cool $60 million tax payment for the state of South Carolina, which now must allow for the possibility that it won't get the windfall after all.
In Simpsonville, rumors are flying about who the lucky winner might be.
"Anyone who quit their job days after the drawing is a suspect," Stevenson said.
If the jackpot isn't claimed, it goes back to the states based on ticket sales. South Carolina's share, or consolation prize, would be about $11.2 million, South Carolina Education Lottery spokeswoman Holli Armstrong said.
The state Board of Economic Advisors is bracing for the worst and considering a plan to remove the money from the state spending plan, the Associated Press reports.
Then there is C.J. Patel, owner of the KC Mart where the ticket was sold. Patel says business has picked up since the glare of the international spotlight shone on his store. Still, if the prize goes unclaimed, Patel could be out the $50,000 he was supposed to get from the lottery.
For folks digging through drawers hunting for the ticket, the winning numbers were 5, 28, 62, 65, and 70, with Mega Ball number 5.
The public may never know who claims the jackpot since South Carolina is one of several states where winners can remain anonymous. But the state will make an announcement when or if the prize is claimed.
Stevenson said no one has come to him looking for advice on how to invest $1.5 billion.
"I keep waiting for them to walk into my door and ask me to do their taxes," Stevenson said. "Of course, the cost of preparing their return might go up a bit from $200, but I would be nice about it."
(Click to display full-size in gallery)
10/23/2018 + 180 = 4/21/2019
Unbelievable! Mostly, I read back in October that it was a young guy whose family is financially comfortable. So, you have 2 months left to claim?
I would think maybe 60 days to figure out where I want to go. However, I would have advised my employer that I got another job to relieve the suspicion.
$$$ like that, you only tell family first and NO ONE quits their job until I have received my $$
If it should happen to go unclaimed then it mention the money would go back to the states. My opinion on this is its the peoples money not the states. I think they should figure out a way for a special drawing and on that drawing you give out the total money to all winning tickets.... its pro rated from top to bottom of all winning ticket.
Hoping this isn't going to be another case where a law firm shows up with the winning ticket and tries to claim it hours before it expires and it turns into another Tipton Hot Lotto type affair...
In this day and age of video surveillance, with the time/date stamp of the ticket purchase, the store's video should have captured the person buying the ticket (or narrow it down to a few possible people).
Normally I would concur with you but not everyone has the best camera system or the angles aren't always correct/clear. If the person was buying 1 for a friend as a gift or picking 1 up out of courtesy just because they were going to the store,then gave the ticket to their friend and the friend misplaced/lost it ??
I'm almost on board with you except I wish they'd just pump it back to that jackpot plus current one and watch the frenzy. April cut-off still gives them sometime but perhaps it is lost.
Reminds me of a story in NJ. Guy simply mails the winning ticket from Newark I think to lottery headquarters in the Trenton area. They still honored it because it got there on the deadline day. Cutting it too close for comfort.
Just cause it was generated doesn't mean it printed. had that happen and its a plausible .
Had one that was stuck behind another when I bought a slew of tickets once. Luckily I felt the thickness was off on the one ticket, and sure enough it was merged behind it. Strangest thing.
My spidey senses say its not in anyones' possession. It never was.
LOL funny.
but OASN(on a serious note)MY LORD. I hope he or she older, past sixties, or younger under 50s,CLAIM it. OMG. i can't imagine
playing, but not rushing to check, or check at least WITHIN 1 month. #smh
It was a $1.5 billion jackpot. At that amount even the non lottery players will take a chance and buy a ticket or two. It was one of these non players that didn't know what they were doing, that had the winning ticket and threw it out thinking it was a loser. Just my thought on it...
Perhaps the winning ticket didn't print due to a printer error. It happened to me a handful of times here in New York City. Sometimes the clerk running the machine doesn't figure out that the lotto printer is way low on receipt tape. Once that happens the lotto machine will not reprint another ticket with the same numbers even if you change the tape.
lol
Hi, GRWurston.
and as we were at a late lunch today, the folks were just saying, how IF what you're saying is true(i show em online things ya know)
my dad goes,"Cassie, welp,
that'll make the person even more obtuse, lol just plain stupid, if that's the case GR, but you might be onto something.
Heck, i get mad if i lose a winning(andhave) pick 3 ticket! (it was a nice big amount as i play usually 1 number (multiple x)
and pick 4(never)lost em, not p4..." (thank god)
but, yea i can't imagine losing this amount. (throwing tix away)without checking.
i just can't imagine it.)smh
Remarkable to me that the retailer loses the $50,000 bonus as well if unclaimed. That part is not a mystery- the lottery commission knows where the ticket was generated. The right thing for the SC lottery is to pay Patel his $50,000 if they get $11 million back.
The ticket may still be in the glove compartment.
What will happen if someone finds winning ticket, but not original buyer?
I have read stories where a non player was ready to throw out a ticket that had won because they thought the numbers on the ticket had to be in the order they were drawn in order to win. But then a friend or relative looked at the ticket and told them otherwise.
Hey, anything is possible.
This is ridiculous. The deadline for claiming is two months away. If SC is so hard up for tax money why don't they increase taxes instead of cutting them? They are already taking money from the lottery they shouldn't.
I hope the winner is somewhere laughing his butt off.
Let's wait until the last week before the deadline when the pressure is really on to be worried about this.
$878 mil x 2.51% (CD rate) = $22,037,800 / year or $1,836,483 / month in lost interest by not claiming the ticket right after the beginning of 2019. These figures are pre-tax, of course.
That's a lot of money to throw out the window!
Claim the ticket A.S.A.P. if you know where it is.
Here in California back in 2016. Wednesday night 1/13/2016 in Chino Hills, CA Marvin and Mae Acosta won one-third of the record Power Ball jackpot $1.6 billion. They waited six months to claim their prize. CA allows a winner 365 days to claim, a full year.
The South Carolina ticket has been lost as this CPA mentioned.
Sometimes I think , who the lucky person , who has the ticket .
If I had won this amount , I would already had my finances ,
figured out , etccccc .
Here is a thought..just for S & G... The person was out getting the ticket and was wearing a light coat due to weather in their area that day. Got the ticket,placed it in the jacket pocket, finished other errands,got home,put the jacket in the closet. Hasn't worn the jacket since. And that ticket is just sitting there, patiently waiting ..
Looking at these winning numbers 5, 28, 62, 65, and 70 they could be a child, parent, grandparents, and grandparent in law.
I think the ticket got lost some how myself.-weshar75
Like in the Instant "Scratch-Off" Games Forum, it's yours to claim a discarded ticket unless signed on the back.
When the paper roll starts getting low, the paper at a certain point has a fuschia mauve vertical stripe alerting that the paper roll is getting low. If a person is buying a lot of tickets once the printing starts, it can run out of the paper.
For the mega Millions drawing on 10/23/2018 there was a total of 15,750,013 lower tier winning tickets sold.
Prizes ranged from $3 mil (for those who chose to add the Megaplier to a 5/5 win) all the way down to $2 if you matched just the Mega Number.
I wonder how many of those winning tickets have not been cashed.
It's you luck day.
If it's not signed.
Those numbers could be as you said in your post, but wasn't it a quick pick that won?
It's possible they have an image of who bought the ticket, but if that person is not a regular at the store, nobody can identify them. Because SC is an anonymous state, publishing the a picture of the buyer might cause a serious problem.
But it will be worse if nobody claims and the money is distributed to the states.
If unclaimed, Megamillions should change their bylaws and take the $1.5 billion and put it back into the jackpot. Whether it's all at once or $100 million at a time (15 times), it's the right thing to do. Patel should also get his $50,000.
I'm sure they won't, though. It's government; they're greedy. By keeping the money, fewer people will play, which is bad in the long run, but since when was government ever interested in the long run? They're like most corporations -- I'll take the money today, to hell with tomorrow.
That sucks for store owner to lose out on 50K but at least his lotto sales have increased since selling the winning ticket.
This is why, I only play by subscription. You can't loose your ticket. It can't be stolen and cashed in. If you win a prize, it is credited to your subscription account. If it is a large prize amount, the lottery will contact you.
It's a win win situation!
Ah, the old subscription theme dannyct. There are some States that do not allow a player to get their tickets that route, California being one of them.Going off what you posted, it's as though they want you to purchase advance plays, then if you lose your ticket/ tickets- it's tough love. It would be interesting to see how the States would get their millions of dollars back.
Eww no thanks. I hate playing by subscriptions. In my state you have to play the same number for a minimum of 4 draws. Which is something I never ever do :)
Do you actually think that the States would agree to that ?!? LOL! This is not Europe!! This is GREED CENTRAL; THE UNITED STATES OF AVARICE! Atoz, you actually said give back money!! HA HA! Go back to sleep, this is the matrix.
"My opinion on this is its the peoples money not the states."
There's exactly one person (or perhaps one group) entitled to the money and that's the person who owns the winning ticket. If they fail to claim it for some reason other people have no more claim on it than they have on any other property that person owns or is entitled to. Since the money came from the prize pool it would be nice if it was returned to players in some manner, but other players have no claim on it.
"Sometimes the clerk running the machine doesn't figure out that the lotto printer is way low on receipt tape."
I'm only guessing, but I'd imagine that the terminals know when they're out of paper, and that if there's no paper for printing the terminal won't generate the ticket. If not getting a gas receipt because the pump is out of paper is any indication, lottery terminals being able to generate a ticket when they can't print one would result in problems on a pretty regular basis. It probably varies from state to state, but in NY that could result in screwing up as much as 10 games (you can get $10 or $20 QP's on a single ticket, or 1 to 4 games each of NY lotto, PB and MM which print on 3 separate tickers as a "power pack".
A damaged ticket is a possibility, but if anyone tried to buy a MM ticket and had it damaged I'm guessing they'd have contacted the lottery a long time ago.
"What will happen if someone finds winning ticket, but not original buyer?"
If they have a lick of sense they'll consult a lawyer and submit a claim. Having consulted a lawyer they'd presumably answer truthfully and tell the lottery that they found the ticket, and they'll comply with the SC laws about lost property. That brings up the interesting question of what an unclaimed ticket with the winning numbers is worth. In many places you can keep something worth less than some modest amount, such as $10. When you find something worth millions you have to follow the laws about getting it back to the rightful owner.
Man you all ever buy a quick pick....take a look at it....and then know you have no chance at winning. One such ticket for me was when I had all 5 numbers in the 30s and in the 60s. I swear sometimes I think that a clerk has a button that says crap ticket that they press if they just don't like you. Although I don't really know what a winning combination looks like neither until the day after the drawing. (I can't check my ticket until the next so I ca get one more day of sleep dreaming that I hit it)
Gotten a few of those over the years. I have also looked at the numbers the night of the draw and said there is no way anyone has those numbers
PB numbers drawn on Feb 9.
1-2-3-7-39+25
If you had gotten a QP with numbers like that you would have called it a "crap ticket".
Until they were drawn.
ANY ticket you buy, QP or self pick, simply has one of the 292,201,338 combination of numbers in the game.