A South Carolina man became a multi-millionaire during his lunch break, thanks to a lucky North Carolina Lottery scratch-off game ticket.
James Belich, of Lancaster, S.C., recently won the $10 million top prize in the North Carolina Education Lottery's $300,000,000 Supreme Riches scratch-off after buying a ticket in Charlotte.
"You never expect it," said Belich. "You think maybe you'll win something, but not $10 million. It's unbelievable."
"When he got home, he was so shocked all he could do was hold the ticket up in front of my face," said his wife, Emily. "Our two boys are too young to really understand. Our oldest is five and he thinks we won $20."
Belich called his brothers, his best friend since childhood and his uncle in Raleigh to give them the good news. Then he drove to his mom's house to tell her in person.
"You know, I'm one of four brothers," said Belich. "My mom was a single mom. We're all really, really close. It's important for me to share this win with them. When I told her, we both just cried."
Belich had the option of taking a $10 million annuity that has 20 payments of $500,000 a year or a lump sum of $6 million. He chose the lump sum and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $4,245,009. Belich and his wife don't plan on making any big lifestyle changes just yet and will use their winnings to pay bills and invest.
"We like where we live, it's great to raise a family," says Belich. "We may buy a few extra rounds for folks when we go out, but this prize will create a brighter future for our kids. That's what's important. It's awesome, just a blessing."
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Did he go back to work or did he call his boss with "Take this job and shove it" playing in the background?
Now with his name, town and picture out there the crazies will be hunting him down.
he'll continue working. probably less than 5m cash option which he shouldn't take at his age. checking now for actual amounts. he took the cash. didn't finish reading the story. bad mistake on his part. will cost him around 2m overall.
another great reason to take the annuity.
BB, where does it mentions James's age? Just asking.
The best stories are like this one; with no "spent my last buck" or the usual drama, just an average person buying a scratch-off and getting really lucky. Wonder if he'll ask for advice from the "experts" that never won a jackpot?
Well, there's no guarantee that annuity will be in existence 10 or 20 years from now. Who knows what may happen and poof, money's gone. He would have no control over that annuity. He can find his own investment that can earn interest and be safe.
Doesn't mention his age, but it says his oldest kid is five, and he looks fairly young in the picture.
there's no guarantee, but it would take a calamity of some sort for it not to be paid out. a calamity which would wipe out his investment also more than likely. if he is prudent and invests smartly, then maybe take the cash. the track record for winners of similar amounts hasn't been that great making it last 20 years plus. if you can't get your hands on it you are pretty much guaranteed to get it every year. something to look forward to yearly. a 500k less taxes direct deposit into your checking account.
but it would take a calamity of some sort for it not to be paid out. a calamity which would wipe out his investment also more than likely.
Remember when the state of Illinois couldn't pay its lottery winners? That wasn't because of a calamity that affected other investors, just bad governance. (They eventually paid what they owed winners.)
the track record for winners of similar amounts hasn't been that great making it last 20 years plus.
You don't know that. You only know what you read in the papers, and the papers prefer salacious stories of lottery winners ending up broke. If it bleeds, it leads.
I think the bottom line is some people cannot resist playing arm-chair financial adviser. Unless you know his financial situation and what his goals and priorities are, you can't know whether the annuity or cash option is better. Worry about yourself.
billybucks, I calculated that if you multiply tonight's MM Annuity by .63 that equals = $263,3000,000.00
The MM annuity tonight is $418,000,000.00 You pay 37% taxes on it and the result equals the Cash Lump Sum = $263,300,000.00
Understand? The taxes will be paid.
The Annuity grows tax free. Uncle Sam gets his cut either way.
The tax rate is low now. Nobody knows what they will be in the future.
I have to factor in my age and health. I do not want to leave my heirs a tax headache when the IRS comes and collects the remaining taxes as a lump sum after I die. The IRS does not care if they can pay it or not. Will they have to go into debt to pay the taxes the IRS wants?
Taking the Lump Sum is no piece of cake either. Emotions can destroy it. Being too generous.
You will have to say NO now or later after you have given a lot away.
If there is a guarantee, the state of S.C. is making it because they simply divide the prize $10 million by 20 yearly installments. Based on the $6 million cash value, they need to get an annual 5.6% interest rate. The current Federal tax rate on $500,000 is slightly over 30%* and 6% in South Carolina. IMO, I'd be more worried about a large increase in the state tax than Federal.
*$45,689.50 plus 35% of the amount over $200,000
"I think the bottom line is some people cannot resist playing arm-chair financial adviser. Unless you know his financial situation and what his goals and priorities are, you can't know whether the annuity or cash option is better. Worry about yourself."
It could be jackpot envy or probably similar to arm chair coaches; even though they have no experience running a professional sports team, they have tons of ideas how they should be run.
music*, was hoping it was you that had the five #'s in CA last night. The ticket actually paid out better than the Megaplier of two, just over $2.5 million. Now onto 444.