ONE lucky lottery player hit it big twice in one night but lost out on part of his winnings because of the law.
A little over a year ago, Marco Accardo of New York won two Mega Millions tickets, totaling $2 million in prize money.
Since he won on November 11, 2022, the deadline to claim the prize money was November 11, 2023; and he made it just in time.
It is not uncommon for winners to wait to cash in their tickets, but experts have one tip to ensure that money stays with the true winner.
The law office of Phillips, Hunt, Walker & Hanna advises winners to sign the ticket to ensure they are the only person who can claim the prize.
It's not too shocking that he won twice over, as Accardo played the same numbers on both tickets; 5, 9, 15, 16, and 17.
read more on Lotto
Upon claiming his prize, the lucky winner was faced with a less-than-fortunate choice.
He had to decide between taking the $2 million in installments over time, paying taxes along the way, or taking the whole prize up front but paying all taxes upfront.
Tax law dictates that lottery winnings are considered income and thus require taxes to be paid.
Accardo opted to take the lump sum for each ticket, $651,000 for each ticket, totaling $1.3 million after taxes.
Most read in Money
While still freshly a millionaire, Accardo lost $700,000 of his prize money in taxes.
What might sting more than the taxes taken is how close he was to a nearly $87 million payout.
Had either of his tickets had 25 as the Mega Ball number, then his winnings would have been multiplied 87 times over.
Graham Stephan is a 33-year-old multimillionaire who got rich in real estate and now gives out financial advice on YouTube; he agrees with Accardo's choice to take the lump sum.
He advises that winners should take the lump sum and then invest the money so it continues to make a profit.
“When you look at the money you invest over the long term, you’re almost always going to come out ahead by taking the lump sum and investing it than just taking the annuity over 29 years,” said Graham.
With the right investments, the winner's money can make so much money that their original winnings are never touched.
“This will prevent you from going broke,” said Graham.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEZqqupl6YvK57zKilnrFfboVzhJBqaWillZyubrnIpaOip56oeq27062cq7FdrLavusSrZK2ZqJrAbrHXqZyrrF2kvaq6yKilZqaVrHq6u9GkZg%3D%3D