I won a $2 million Powerball jackpot after buying my ticket at a cigar store – but lost almost half of it when I received my prize

A LUCKY lottery winner has come forward and claimed his $2 million prize.

The winning Powerball ticket was purchased at a cigar store in New York.

A New York company recently came forward to claim its $2 million lottery winnings.

3317 Holdings Limited Liability Company of Huntington matched the five white Powerball numbers to secure the money.

Drawn on October 2, 2023, the winning numbers were 12, 26, 27, 43 and 47.

The LLC was unable to match the red Powerball number, 5.

The company, however, chose to purchase the $1 Powerplay, which doubled the prize pool from $1 million to $2 million.

The Powerplay feature multiplies non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times.

New York LLC purchased its ticket at Smokes 4 Less cigar shop at 59 North Plank Road in Newburgh.

COSTLY DECISION

The company opted to receive a one-time payment, which amounted to $1,302,001 after federal and state taxes withheld.

The one-time payment option for lottery prizes comes as a one-time payment, compared to the annuity option which is paid in annual installments over decades.

The first option usually offers winners a smaller total prize due to high taxation.

In the case of the New York company, it lost just under $700,000 – almost half of the $2 million prize – in taxes.

Another New York lottery winner, Walter Jewels, also lost a portion of his winnings after opting to receive a lump sum.

On the other hand, the annuity option pays the prize in full in cash.

However, as the prize is typically paid to winners over the age of 30, the monetary value is likely to decrease with years of inflation.

Top US Lottery Winners

Millions dream of winning the lottery and finding fame and fortune. These are the biggest winners in US lottery history.

• Edwin Castro – $2.04 billion, Powerball, November 8, 2022, in California.
• Theodorus Struyck – $1.765 billion, Powerball, October 11, 2023, California.
• Unknown Winner – $1.602 Billion, Mega Millions, August 8, 2023, Florida.
• Marvin and Mae Acosta of Los Angeles, California, John and Lisa Robinson of Munford, Tennessee, and Maureen Smith and David Kaltschmidt of Melbourne Beach, Florida – $1.586 billion, Powerball, January 13, 2016.
• Winner unknown – $1.537 billion, Mega Millions, October 23, 2018, from South Carolina.
• Winner unknown – he sued his child’s mother to keep his identity hidden – $1.348 billion, Mega Millions, January 13, 2023, from Maine.
• Unknown Winner – $1.337 Billion, Mega Millions, July 29, 2022, from Illinois.
• Winner unknown – $1.326 billion, Powerball, April 7, 2024, from Oregon.
• Yanira Álvarez – $1.08 billion Powerball, July 19, 2023 in California.
• Wolverine FLL Lottery Club – $1.05 Billion, Mega Millions, January 22, 2021, from Michigan.
• Winner unknown – $842.4 million Powerball, January 1, 2024, from Michigan.

NEW YORK LOTTERY

The New York Lottery is the largest and most profitable lottery in North America, according to the state lottery website.

It contributed a whopping $3.7 billion to public education in fiscal year 2022 to 2023.

The Powerball game in New York racked up $516,866,283 in sales over the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

Many in the state have won life-changing amounts of money in the lottery.

A New York woman stopped at a gas station and ended up winning $1 million on a scratch-off ticket.

Another winner from New York won the $9.6 million jackpot but took home just over a third of the prize.