History has been made down in South Carolina thanks to a belated claim from a presumably stoked Mega Millions winner.
The winner, who has understandably chosen to not reveal their identity, has opted for the one time payment option of $877,784,124 after bagging the winning numbers for a $1.5 billion jackpot in October. The fateful ticket was purchased at a KC Mart convenience store in Simpsonville, with shop owner C.J. Patel telling CBS News at the time that such an event was indeed "good for the community." However, over the nearly six months that have passed since the winning numbers were announced, some in the region were likely starting to think this Mega Millions would lay unclaimed all the way through the upcoming April deadline.
"We are delighted that the winner is a South Carolinian and has come forward to claim this remarkable prize," South Carolina Education Lottery Commission executive director Hogan Brown said in a statement Monday. "We offer sincere congratulations and are very happy that one of our South Carolina retailers, KC Mart in Simpsonville, will receive $50,000 for selling the claimed winning ticket. The State of South Carolina will benefit from $61 million that will be collected in income taxes from the winner. We respect the winner's decision to remain anonymous, and we will honor the winner's wishes."
As the commission noted in their announcement, the winner's decision to take a one time payout of nearly $878 million makes this the largest jackpot payout to a single winner in United States history.
Speaking of the glories of anonymity, perhaps this winner should have taken a note from the Super Lotto playbook by rocking a Scream mask.
