Daughter wins $2 million from lottery ticket she was gifted from her father
Vanesa Menijvar Acosta cashed in on the life-changing prize on May 28 after her father purchased the ticket at East Boston Corner Market in Massachusetts.
The store will receive a $20,000 bonus for selling the winning Mega Money instant ticket game.
Vanesa has the choice to taking a one-time lump sum of $1.3 million before taxes or incremental payments.
She is a resident of Norcross, Georgia, which is a city outside of Atlanta. Vanesa told the Massachusetts Lottery that she plans on buying a house and paying for her college education with her prize money.
There are still three more Mega Money instant ticket prizes worth $2 million, three grand prizes of $25 million, and second chance drawings with sums from $100 to $50,000.
Another Massachusetts resident, David Strickland, cashed in on a whopping $1 million prize after trying his hand at the Mega Money lottery.
He told lottery officials that he'd never been on vacation before and planned to take his first one to Las Vegas with the prize money.
Strickland opted for the one-time cash option and took home a lump sum of $650,000 after taxes.
He purchased the ticket at Bristol County Wine and Spirits in Berkley. The store is also cashing in on a $10,000 bonus for selling the lucky ticket.
The winners' massive checks were cut significantly due to the immense tax on lottery prizes.
The federal government takes a 24 percent cut of the winnings, while the state of Massachusetts takes another 5 percent.
Even though Vanesa is a resident of Georgia, she'll still be taxed by Massachusetts since that's where the lottery ticket was bought.
Massachusetts announces its lottery winners and doesn't allow them to remain anonymous like other states.
The two Massachusetts winners opted to receive a lump sum payment as opposed to an annuity.
They cashed in on large sums, but lost a wide margin of their winnings by choosing to take the immediate payout.
Lottery hopefuls looking to strike similar luck still have a chance, as multiple Mega Money instant tickets have yet to be claimed.
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