Small-town billionaire

SOUTH CAROLINA TOWN SELLS WINNING TICKET

Winner can take $877m in cash or have the $1.5bn paid out over 29 years.

Only one ticket matched all six numbers in the US Mega Millions lottery which offered a jackpot of $1.537 billion (R22.32 billion), just short of a world record, an official said on Wednesday.

The ticket was sold in Simpsonville, South Carolina, the city’s mayor, Janice Curtis, said in a telephone interview.

The town of 22 000, about 22km from Greenville, was abuzz as people clamoured to learn more about the winner, but in South Carolina a person who hits the jackpot can opt to remain anonymous.

The buyer of the ticket beat odds of 1/303 million to win the jackpot.

It failed to break the record for lottery winnings, held by the $1.586 billion Powerball prize in January 2016.

The Powerball lottery also had a huge prize at stake on Wednesday when 3, 21, 45, 53, 56, and a Powerball of 22 were drawn. The $620-million jackpot was the fifth-largest in US history. The lump-sum cash payout is estimated at $354.3 million.

For the Mega Millions winner, options include a cash payment of $877.8 million or the $1.537 billion prize paid out over 29 years. There were 36 second-tier winners – those who picked five winning numbers but did not match the mega ball. Most won $1 million, but two, in Florida and Texas, added a Megaplier option, tripling their winnings. –