The lucky ticket holder matched the numbers 27, 37, 54, 66 and 69 with Mega Ball 5 to become the second Mega Millions winner of 2016 and the first in the Evergreen State since January 2011, when Vietnam veteran Jim McCullar shared $380 million with a player from Idaho. This week’s winner will be able to choose between taking the $157 million as an annuity over 29 years or opting for a pre-tax cash lump sum of $102 million.
Washington’s Lottery has issued a statement urging players who bought their Mega Millions tickets at Nirvhai Singh’s branch of 7-Eleven to check their numbers carefully and, if they believe they have the winning slip, to sign the back and contact the claims team to begin the process of collecting their prize. The winner will have to visit lottery headquarters in Olympia due to the magnitude of their award.
Despite the lack of a financial reward for providing the multimillion-dollar ticket, Singh told the TV channel that he still hoped to benefit, with news of the win encouraging players to enter lotteries at his store in the future, hoping the luck of this week’s winner will rub off on them.
Washington’s Lottery offers players the chance to take part in the interstate Mega Millions and Powerball lotteries as well as Washington’s own Lotto game. The lottery donated $119 million from ticket sales to educational schemes during 2015.
