Lottery winner from San Diego claims $522M Mega Millions ticket
A day after Laarni Bibal purchased a Mega Millions lottery ticket at a local market in San Diego, news broke that a California ticket had hit the jackpot.
It was at that moment she found out the $522 million ticket was her's — an astounding revelation for Bibal, who lives in a state where ticket can be purchased in over 23,000 California Lottery retailers and more than 4,000 Lottery Lucky retailers.
But according to lottery officials, California's newest multi-millionaire "took some time to claim her ticket." Bibal sat on the ticket for weeks, after purchasing it in early June.
“My heart started beating really fast!” the lucky winner told state lottery officials. The ticket worth over half a billion dollars was purchased back in June at Sorrento Deli Mart, a market Bibal typically frequents.
When asked where she kept the fortune, she simply replied in a "secret hiding place."
There was no special method to landing the big win- it was merely a stroke of luck. The numbers were computer-generated through Quick Pick: 27-68-17-19-40 and the Mega Number, 2.
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Bibal opted for the cash rather than smaller annual payouts, so she'll take home $340 million before federal taxes, according to lottery officials. The market where the ticket was purchased will also collect a retailer bonus of $1 million for merely selling the ticket, which is separate from Bibal's winnings.
Though the initial amount seems large, the amount that gets pushed to your bank account is significantly less. Lottery winnings are treated like ordinary income, which means winnings are taxed the same as wages or salaries. The entire amount of either annuity payments or lump sums must be reported on tax returns.
In most states, lottery winnings subject to federal and state income taxes, according to Forbes. California, Delaware, Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming are the exceptions. Those states either have no state tax on lottery prizes or have no income tax.