It’s highly likely that a resident in the state of West Virginia is now a multimillionaire.
According to the WV Lottery, a Lotto America winning ticket was sold at the Tobacco Barn in Milton, West Virginia. This is located in Cabell County.
The winning lottery ticket is valued at $4.28 million.
The grand prize winner hit on all six numbers, along with the Star Ball. Winning numbers were 1-8-17-35-45, while the Star Ball was 9.
Lottery officials are instructing the ticket holder to sign the back of the ticket and to call the WV Lottery. Its offices can be reached at 304-558-0500.
Lotto America is available in 13 states across the country, with the majority of them in the Midwest. It holds drawings on Wednesdays and Saturdays, weekly.
Since the prize exceeds $1 million, the winner is legally allowed to remain anonymous. Otherwise, WV law states that all lottery winners are made public and listed in the winner database at the lottery’s website.
The lucky resident has 180 days to claim the winnings.
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WV Lottery retailer sells winning ticket
Most winning WV Lottery tickets are claimed at either lottery retailers or through the mail. With this jackpot ticket worth well over $600, the winner can collect directly from the lottery headquarters in Charleston, or its regional office in Weirton.
Besides having their signed ticket, winners must also produce all of the following items:
- Driver’s license or government-issued photo ID
- Social Security card
- Mailing address
- Phone number
Although more than $4 million is a massive lottery payout, the winner won’t receive every bit of it.
Every prize over $5,000 is taxed both federally and by the state.
The WV Lottery will withhold 24% of the money for federal taxes, and 6.5% for state tax. This will leave the winner of the Lotto America ticket with about $2.97 million.
If the ticket isn’t claimed within the 180-day period, the money would be returned to the prize fund. It could be utilized for second-chance drawings, additional prizes in other lottery games or other promotional purposes.
The Unclaimed Prize Fund has paid out slightly over 1% of the 7% retailer commission, too.
The lottery is not responsible for any lost tickets. It encourages all participants to print and sign their names on the back of any winning ticket. The WV Lottery also recommends making a photocopy of it.
If you do not sign the ticket, then anyone in possession of it may file the claim under their name.
The only decision winners must make when collecting is how they would like to be paid out. They have 60 days after claiming a jackpot to decide if they want a one-time cash lump sum or annuity payments.
These annuity payments are made in 30 yearly payouts, taking place over the next 29 years.
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Lottery winnings in the US
Surprisingly, there are plenty of cases in the US where lottery tickets are never claimed. It’s difficult to say what might cause this; however, the numbers prove that this happens way more often than you’d think.
According to CNN, lottery expert Brett Jacobson reported in 2018 that there were $2.89 billion in unclaimed lottery winnings during the previous year.
This figure included 167 jackpots that were worth at least $1 million.
The record for the largest unclaimed lottery ticket was set in Georgia in 2011. This total prize was $77 million.
More recently, a $14.6 million ticket expired in Arizona in December 2019.
With prizes this sizable, people would have the opportunity to completely change their lives. So many are currently struggling financially since numerous jobs have fallen by the wayside due to the coronavirus.
Although slightly more than $4 million isn’t setting any records, it’s certainly a lot of money.
If you play the lottery, you should always be thorough in reviewing your ticket. It’s worth taking the few extra seconds to ensure that you don’t have a winner as opposed to quickly checking it.
This should truly be the case if you learn that the winning ticket is sold in the state or region you live in.
Residents in the Mountain State who play Lotto America should double-check their tickets from last week to make sure their lives haven’t changed.
Lottery win coincides with WV online casino launch
As we wait for the $4 million lottery ticket holder to come forward, West Virginia casino players are celebrating the news of the latest WV online casino launch: BetMGM Casino.
The BetMGM WV casino app boasts “the largest slate of casino games in the state,” including:
- Blackjack
- Roulette
- Slots, including progressive jackpot WV online slots
BetMGM joins DraftKings Casino in offering online casino gambling in the Mountain State.
