Colorado outdoors groups will get $ 21 million
Colorado didn’t score a Powerball jackpot winner, but state parks and schools will receive more than $ 21 million from sales of the record- breaking $ 1.58 billion jackpot.
More than $ 60 million of tickets were sold in Colorado during the 21- drawing run, which ended Wednesday with three jackpot winners. None were from Colorado.
Thewinning numbers were 4, 8, 19, 27, 34. Powerball: 10. Power Play: 2.
The three tickets with the winning numbers were purchased in Chino Hills, Calif.; Munford, Tenn.; and Melbourne Beach, Fla.
So far, none of the winners has come forward, but all are required to by their states’ laws.
Powerball ticket sales hit a single- day record for the Colorado Lottery on Wednesday, when $ 12.6 million of tickets were sold.
That broke Saturday’s record of $ 9.75 million, which “completely blew us off the ( past) record,” said Kelly Tabor, a state lottery spokesperson.
About 24 percent of all lottery ticket sales in Colorado go to three Colorado outdoor groups: Great Outdoors Colorado, The Conservation Trust and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
After a cap is met, the remaining money is given to Building Excellent Schools Today, a division of the state Department of Education that offers construction help to underfunded schools.
Last year, the Colorado outdoor groups received $ 128 million, and BEST got $ 1.9million.
For Powerball alone, a larger percentage of sales goes to state programs. For this Powerball run, 36 percent of the $ 60 million of ticket sales will go to parks and schools. It’s not known yet how much of a wind fall Power ball will provide for all of 2016.
“We’re certainly going to have a lot more
thanwewould have,” Tabor said.
Meanwhile, if they’re wise, the three mystery winners of the world- record jackpot will talk seriously with experts in tax law, financial planning, privacy, security and other safeguards before they become known around the planet.
The lucky three bought their tickets in the small working- class town of Munford, Tenn.; in the modest Los Angeles suburb of Chino Hills; and at a supermarket in affluent Melbourne Beach, on Florida’s Space Coast.
They overcame odds of 1 in 292.2 million to land on all the numbers. They can let their winnings be invested and thereby collect 30 annual payments totaling an estimated $ 533 million, or take their third of $ 983.5 million in cash all at once.
State and local taxes can eat up nearly half the winnings for many lottery players around the country, but these three could be even more lucky if they live in Florida orTennessee, which have no state income tax, or California, which exempts winnings from lottery tickets bought in- state. They would still owe federal taxes, topping out at 39.6 percent.
The California ticket was sold at a 7- Eleven, the Florida ticket at a Publix supermarket and the Tennessee ticket at a family- owned grocery store, where the owner, Dana Naifeh, received a $ 25,000 check.
Florida’s store collects $ 100,000, and California’s $ 1 million bonus will be shared between the Chino Hills store owner and the 7Eleven company.