First time player wins $5 million lottery jackpot

Comment #25

mylollipop — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:22:11 GMT

. Just wonderful and she is sharing her blessing with her church. No more bus tickets needed now. I am so happy for you. Just wonderful

Comment #24

savagegoose — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:25:35 GMT

hi im from australia. We also state our lotto is tax free, but it isnt. sure the winnings isnt taxed, but the gov still gets it tax how? every ticket purchased it taxed.

in a way i prefer the way the US taxes its lotto, i mean the winner can afford to be taxed more than all us losers can.

anyhow same her ein aust. its stated as tax free but it is just taxed form different people.

Comment #23

buttercake — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:39:11 GMT

Hi rdgrnr, No income tax or any form of tax is paid on any lottery wins here in the UK, it is 100% tax free.

Comment #22

LckyLary — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:01:49 GMT

The $5M would be with the Lottery investing in whatever, so the 2.x with cash option, and then taxes.

The $2.8M or so is what the total sales are for this jackpot so far MINUS the takeout (what the Lottery

uses for their costs or Education etc.), and then out of that is about 1/3 in taxes. The $5M is the advertised

*annuity* jackpot meaning over years it's invested and paid out slowly so the remaining balance earns

interest. The rule of thumb is, whatever the Annuity prize is ( The j... [ More ]

Comment #21

larry3100 — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:31:01 GMT

That's $onemillion,eighthundred sixtyninethousand twohundred and sixtythree dollars.Better than NOTHING

Comment #20

marlon39 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:17:09 GMT

Congratulations

Comment #19

konane — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:06:22 GMT

Comment #18

rdgrnr — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:59:29 GMT

Hi buttercake,

Do you pay any kind of income tax on it at the end of the year or any tax whatsoever at any time

Comment #17

buttercake — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:14:28 GMT

I do understand that if she decides to keep the whole $5m it is paid over 20+ years in instalements, and how the $5m won gets divded, what I was saying is that over here in the UK if you win $5m, $10m or whatever amount, it is paid out in one lump sum tax free there is no options for it to be paid out in instalements, what you win is what you get, so you win $10m today you call up the lotto office go down to collect the cheque for $10m, plus the sooner you call up the lotto office the sooner ine... [ More ]

Comment #16

charmed7 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:20:45 GMT

WTG thats a good hit

Comment #15

CAL-LottoPlayer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:54:47 GMT

Buttercake,

no, the $5M is the lotto award over 20-26 years in payments. If you want all the cash upfront, then you typically divide by 2. After that you must take away US Federal Government (IRS) taxes, typically about 38%. After that, if the state taxes lotto winnings, you must take away state taxes, typically about 12%. New York taxes lotto winnings, California does not. This is why, to get a general idea how much someone wins in the USA, you divide the jackpot by 3 to get the cash payout

Comment #14

buttercake — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:05:30 GMT

Wow the tax is painful to see, she should have played in the UK as $5m won would have been tax free, I guess us players in the UK are fortunate to have a game that offers no tax deduction, anyway congrats to her

Comment #13

lottocalgal — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:31:05 GMT

Ouch? I'd take that kind of pain anyday.

Comment #12

CAL-LottoPlayer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:55:29 GMT

The former New York resident was in town visiting friends last month when she purchased a Lotto ticket on a whim and scored the huge jackpot.

$5 Million is nice, but it is not a huge jackpot. In California, the Super Lotto starts at $6M and goes all the way up to $100 Million. On September 1, 2007, the California Super Lotto was $93 Million. There was one winner and California does not tax their lotto winners, unlike New York.

Comment #11

CAL-LottoPlayer — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:34:55 GMT

A $5 Million lotto win down to $1.8 M is actually correct. In general, when you see a lotto win, divide by 3 and that's what you receive in cash after taxes. $5M/3 = $1.67 M cash. Because this is New York, I am surprised they allow lotto winners to keep so much. New York does tax their lotto winners. Luckily, in California, they do NOT tax lotto winnings, at least so far.

Comment #10

Litebets27 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:44:30 GMT

Congratulations Mrs Moon.

What a way to win. First bet.

The Jackpot gods surely smiled down on her.

Spend it wisely....

Comment #9

diamondpalace — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:36:54 GMT

Awesome story.

Yep, tax is a female dog up in NYC.

Other than that, she was at the right place and the right time.

Comment #8

maringoman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:02:59 GMT

You could be spending hundreds of dollars each month and not win anything substantial.

Remember the book keeper from NY who embezzeled more than $1,000,000 from her

employer and spent the money to buy lottery tickets and never won anything substantial?

And then this lady, a lotto first timer, decided to get 2 tickets because she needed change

and hit big, aint that the lotto demon at work

Comment #7

PERDUE — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:10:26 GMT

Congratulations!!!!!!! Way to go

Comment #6

rdgrnr — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:52:15 GMT

Yep, the tax man doesn't invest a nickle but gets an over $970,000 piece of the action for absolutely nothing. Don'cha love it? What a racket.

Comment #5

fwlawrence — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:27:12 GMT

So she wins $5 million and ends up with $1,829,263? OUCH

Comment #4

rdgrnr — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:52:34 GMT

Now that's the way to do it, on the first try! God bless her.

Comment #3

ThatScaryChick — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:35:46 GMT

Congrats to Mrs. Moon on her win

Comment #2

s5thomps — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:20:09 GMT

RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME!, SHE CAN TURN IN THAT BUS PASS NOW!!

You make a living by what you get, You make a life by what you give!

Sir Winston Churchill

Comment #1

tiggs95 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:38:33 GMT

Good for her..Beginners luck..I'd rather be lucky then good..Now go and hide!!..

First time player wins $5 million lottery jackpot

Lottery Post — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:30:39 GMT

Mi Hyun Moon walked into a Queens deli to get $5 in change and walked out with $5 million.

The former New York resident was in town visiting friends last month when she purchased a Lotto ticket on a whim and scored the huge jackpot. It was the first she ever bought.

It was surreal, Moon said yesterday. I'm overjoyed!

The 40-year-old mom of two is a native of Korea who lived for 20 years in Queens before moving just outside of Philadelphia.

She makes regular visits to the city, and... [ More ]