Three lucky winners have encountered a windfall gain, courtesy Powerball. The third largest Powerball jackpot ever, $564.1 million, is going to be split in three parts with each winner being eligible for $127 million before the taxes are accounted for. That makes up $381 million for the winning combination and the remaining has left many other winners significantly richer than what they were last week.
According to reports available as of now, the three winners are from North Carolina, Puerto Rico and Texas. The winners’ claims have not been verified yet. The lottery authorities are yet to confirm the tickets and all winners are at present on their way to get financial and legal advice on how to go about claiming their riches. All winners have the luxury to claim the entire amount as a lump-sum payment which will invite the federal and state taxes, roughly reducing the winnings to about $90. The winners can also opt for a recurring payment with a significant amount being paid out every year. In such a scenario, the amount to be paid every year would draw interest and thus would increase over time.
Chandra Siwakoti from Princeton in Texas who owns the Appletree Food Mart is a lucky man. Lottery authorities have confirmed that one winning ticket was sold at Chandra’s store which qualifies him for a million bucks in bonus.
Puerto Rico gets its first Powerball jackpot winner after joining the lottery last year. It is also the first instance of someone winning the jackpot outside continental United States. According to reports, the ticket was sold in Cotto Laurel at a Shell gas station. The identity of the winner is not known and may remain unknown because Puerto Rico doesn’t require lottery winners to disclose their identity. An employee at the Shell gas station, Laisa Rodriguez, has confirmed the sale of the winning ticket.
In North Carolina, a winning ticket was sold in Brunswick County according to official reports from the lottery authorities and one Marie Holmes, a twenty six year old mother of four, has come forward with the claim of having the winning ticket. A resident of Shallotte in North Carolina, Marie Holmes is a former employee of Wal-Mart and McDonalds. She had just quit the latter to take care of her kids, especially one child who is suffering from cerebral palsy. Her claims are yet to be authenticated by lottery authorities.
Online Powerball Ticket Purchase:
http://www.onlinelotteryshop.com/lotteries/powerball/
