A four-member Lotto club in the suburbs of Detroit has won $ 1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot and will receive $ 557 million after taxes, officials said Friday. The winners claimed their prize weeks after the draw on January 22 and chose the immediate lump sum option. After tax, the payment was reduced from $ 776 million to about $ 557 million, the Michigan Lottery said.
The names of the four members of the Oakland County Club have not been released. The Wolverine FLL Club has the only ticket to win the jackpot.
“This kind of money will affect the families of our club members for generations to come. We plan to remain humble and pay for it through charity in Southern Michigan,” attorney Kurt Panouses said on behalf of the winners.
/ AP
The $ 1.05 billion jackpot was the largest in Michigan Lottery history and the third largest in the United States. Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, DC and the US Virgin Islands.
The winning ticket was purchased almost as a afterthought at a Kroger grocery store in the Detroit suburb of Novi.
“A club member saw a sign that the jackpot was up to $ 1 billion and remembered that they had not yet bought their tickets, so they pulled in the Kroger,” Panouses said. “When you play, you naturally dream of winning, but the reality of it was incredible.”
Kroger said he would donate his $ 50,000 commission to the Food Bank Council of Michigan.
“Kroger is committed to our mission to feed our communities,” said Rachel Hurst, corporate affairs manager at Kroger Co., Michigan.
There was much public speculation immediately after the drawing that a group of Novi teachers had won. David Ascher, principal of Novi Woods Elementary School, shot down the rumors.
“Everyone showed up for work today, which was really good,” Escher said two days after the drawing. “I bought all the donuts today that also help.”