By Kate Northrop
OAKTON, Va. — A Virginia math major had just the right numbers on a Bank a Million lottery ticket to win a $1 million prize.
Numbers are familiar to college student Brian Donohue, who majors in Mathematics at the University of Virginia. Thanks to his mother, he found a winning ticket worth $1 million in his Christmas stocking.
For someone who deals with numbers day in and day out, the winning numbers on the Virginia Lottery's Bank a Million lottery ticket came as a welcome surprise on Christmas Day. Donohue's mother bought the ticket at the Giant Food grocery store on Chain Bridge Road in Oakton.
The $2 ticket matched the first six numbers, 4, 8, 21, 25, 32, 35, minus the Bonus Ball 15 on December 22 to win the game's top prize of $1 million, beating the odds of 1 in 3,838,380. Since the ticket matched the first six numbers exactly, the Bonus Ball was not needed to win.
According to the Lottery, the top prizes of $1 million, $500,000 and $250,000 (depending on the wager) are calculated so that winners receive the prize amount after federal and state tax withholdings, which means that Donohue will be walking away with the full $1 million prize.
Donohue said that the prize money will go toward his college tuition.
Bank a Million drawings take place every Wednesday and Saturday at 11:00 pm EST.
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The title makes it seem like the student won because of his math skills, but that's clearly not the case.
I thought initially he'd say it was nearly mathematically impossible to win the lottery until the article was read. One thing that really stood out was that they pay the taxes so you actually get the $1 million.
You don't need Mathematics to Win!
Just Divine Intervention!
Virginia's BM apparently is one of the easiest to win jackpots because it only has 40 numbers.
He can now go hire someone to create a program and sell it as lottery secret formula software
Never heard of this draw game Bank Million. Congratulations on the win. I agree a million should be a million.
I play this game sometimes. 1 million tax free so you really win about 1.4 million. It replaced decades of dollars.
It's not tax free.. It is just a million after WITHHOLDING tax has been deducted...
An important distinction.
Marginal tax exceeds 24% when you earn more than $164,925.. (up to 37% for sums over $523,601)
Federal tax due on $1,000,000 is about $334,426.. and he would have paid only $240,000
And State withholding is 4% while "Add'l state taxes due (5.75% final rate)" so, up to another 1.75%...
For him to walk away with $1m after withholding taxes are deducted... means he has to be getting something like $1,357,000..
He'll owe about $130,000-$140,000...ybe more depending on his other income.
Lol. I know how taxes are paid and one still really pays taxes. I had read the legal info on the lottery website. I was referring to how the game is advertised.
Georgia just rolled out scratch taxes paid tickets too. IDC what folks say about the taxes, my feeling is 'are you better off with the win than before?' Their top prize is $2 million all the way down to $40K taxes paid so they advertise.
Crazy thing about this game is, no one hardly ever wins the million and most times no one wins the second prize either. I always check the payout.
I have noticed that as well and it is odd considering the pairs and numbers that repeat.
Its rigged that's why.
Lol And your proof is what?
Does Virginia require you to wear a face diaper just to take the picture?
If you go to a NOVA office, probably since NOVA is part of the totalitarian regime. But it might be helpful to disguising your identity a bit.
C'mon mannnnnnn... You KNOW that if you win, you are going to have your pic taken with good ole Becky here at Lotto Hdqtrs. And if you say that you won't ?...well... You're a lying-dog-faced-pony soldier !!
That's a function of low ticket sales which means there is low "coverage" of all the possible 3.8 million combo's in a 6/40 matrix. Players in Virginia are voting on what they think of the game with their dollars. (Or the lack of them) I dont live in Virginia but if I did, I'd definitely play the game. G5
I dunno if they require it or not, but I think it's smart. Not because of the virus, but because it keeps people from easily identifying him. All he has to do is get a haircut, and he'd be even tougher to identify. As for me, I'd be smiling underneath my mask.
Here's a thought. Sooner or later the pandemic will be history. Winners could show up at Lottery HQ to collect a large prize wearing a face mask and tell the lottery folks they're afraid of the virus and cant take their mask off when their picture is taken.
What could/would the lottery do about that, if anything? The pandemic could have actually done a lot of big prize winners a favor. G5
Wait a minute man, all men are endowed with......the republic for which it stands...our forefathers brought forth....nothing to fear but fear itself....hoppin' down the bunny trail....you know the thing, man!
And don't you forget it!
My 4th ex-mother-in-law drove a Nova, bless her heart. I don't believe they make 'em anymore. It don't make me no never-mind no-how if folks knowed I won anyway. We got Castle Doctrine in Tennessee. It works like this here: You come and take what's mine (or try to) and I blow yer goll dang head off.
I always wear mask in public and consider it my civic duty. There is no joy to spread covid to vulnerable people.
I hope to see change in Virginia beginning Jan 15th. Hopefully the new governor will get some grocery trucks in here. The area is having very serious food shortages and if the situation goes on for 2 more weeks, people will starve. 90% of the stores are empty.
"It is just a million after WITHHOLDING tax has been deducted"
That's the important point. It's not tax free and it's not after taxes. You might be able to put a full million in the bank, but you don't get to keep the full million unless you come up with some significant deductions.
"Federal tax due on $1,000,000 is about $334,426"
The federal tax due will be on the actual prize, not the million you get until you pay the rest of the taxes.
"For him to walk away with $1m after withholding taxes are deducted... means he has to be getting something like $1,357,000"
The good news is that VA seems to have ignored the federal reduction in withholding tax to 24%. The prize is apparently fixed at $1,408,451, and after deducting 25% for federal taxes and another 4% for VA taxes you'd get a check for $1 million, plus a modest bonus of 21 cents. Potentially you could pay the top rate on the entire amount if you have other income, but as a ballpark figure the actual net would be about 850k.