via Wkyc:
It looks like someone has just joined the Half Billionaires Club after buying a Mega Millions ticket in California with Tuesday’s winning jackpot numbers.
The ticket was sold at Ernie’s Liquors in San Jose with the California Lottery, according to the lottery’s tweet early Wednesday morning.
1-2-4-19-29 with a Mega Ball of 20 (multiplier 3x)
The $522 million prize is the 11th largest in U.S. history for Mega Millions and the game of its older sister, Powerball. The Mega Millions pot is the fifth largest in that game’s history.
To collect the full amount, you would have to wait 30 years. You can get a nice chunk of change when you cash in your ticket, but with the annuity option, each of the other 29 annual payments is 5% larger than the previous year. (If the winner dies, the estate or beneficiary gets the same payment plan.)
Even the one-time cash option, $308 million, won’t go entirely in your pocket. It is subject to federal, state and local taxes, these days a little less than half taken out — state and local tax rates vary — long before you can think of moving Bermuda or a similar tax haven. (The new tax law that went into effect this year does make the federal tax rate less, falling to 37% from the previous 39.6%.)
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