COLUMBIA, S.C. _ After a long wait, the person who bought the winning ticket in the $1.5 billion Mega Millions drawing came forward Monday to claim the prize, according to a news release from the South Carolina Education Lottery.
The winner, a South Carolina resident, has chosen to remain anonymous and elected to collect the winnings in a one-time payment of $877,784,124 _ the largest jackpot payout to a single winner in U.S. history, the lottery said in a news release.
South Carolina is one of just a few states _ along with Delaware, Kansas, Georgia, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas _ that allows lottery winners to remain anonymous, The State reported.
The winning ticket was sold Oct. 23 at the KC Mart No. 7 on Lee Vaughn Road in Simpsonville, about 90 miles northwest of Columbia in Greenville County, The State reported.
The winner had up to 180 days to claim the prize, said a release from Lottery.net, a site devoted to lottery news. It had been 132 days since the winning ticket was sold.
According to the South Carolina lottery, the person "marvels at how every decision made that day brought the winner to the store, at that very moment, to make the Quick Pick Mega Millions lottery ticket purchase."
The winner let another customer buy a Mega Millions ticket in front of them in line, which " led to an amazing outcome," according to the news release.
The winning numbers were 5, 28, 62, 65 , 70 and a mega number 5, according to an October news release from Mega Millions.
"We are delighted that the winner is a South Carolinian and has come forward to claim this remarkable prize, said Hogan Brown, the South Carolina Education Lottery Commission's executive director. "We offer sincere congratulations and are very happy that one of our South Carolina retailers, KC Mart in Simpsonville, will receive $50,000 for selling the claimed winning ticket. The State of South Carolina will benefit from $61 million that will be collected in income taxes from the winner. We respect the winner's decision to remain anonymous, and we will honor the winner's wishes."
The South Carolina lottery said the winner "retained Jason Kurland of Rivkin Radler of New York to provide legal representation and to act as spokesperson," in the news release. The attorney was to speak at a news conference at South Carolina lottery headquarters in Columbia.
This was the first time South Carolina sold a Mega Millions jackpot winning ticket, The State reported.
The prize being claimed could mean a payoff for all South Carolina taxpayers.
Budget writers in the South Carolina House of Representatives hoped to use the state's $61 million lottery windfall to help pay for rebates to state taxpayers. The proposal was originally requested by Gov. Henry McMaster, who in January asked lawmakers in his executive budget to spend $200 million in the form of a rebate for taxpayers.
In response, the House Ways and Means Committee attached a proviso to the 2019-20 budget that would use the state's lottery share and other state dollars to give a one-time rebate in the amount of $50 per taxpayer.
The South Carolina House will take up the proposed budget next week, which is expected to pass before moving to the state Senate.
