We have all heard lottery stories which fill our minds and imagination with thoughts of, “What would I do if I would have won that much money?” And of course, when a huge jackpot payday is delivered by a massive lottery like Mega Millions or Powerball, the anticipation builds until the winners are announced. If you are anything like we are, the first two things you do as soon as there is an announcement that a winning lottery ticket has been sold are immediate. First, you check to see if you have the winning numbers. And if you did not win the jackpot, your next thought is, “I wonder who won.”
In late 2013, right in the middle of the holiday shopping season, those two thoughts were going through the minds of millions of Mega Millions participants after a record jackpot payday in that lottery was announced. And as we post this article, there still remains a bit of a Mega Millions mystery, as only one of the two winning ticket holders has come forth to claim a share of the record $648 million jackpot that is the richest in Mega Millions history, and the second-largest jackpot in US lottery history. It is one of the most interesting lottery stories in some time, as Thuy Nguyen, the owner of Jenny’s Gift Shop in San Jose, California is known to have sold one of the two winning tickets.
The other jackpot winner purchased her lucky ticket in Atlanta, Georgia, and has already come forward, grabbed her $324 million, and effectively disappeared from the media spotlight. But the newly minted and mysterious Mega Millions millionaire who shared the jackpot win with 56-year-old Ira Curry of Stone Mountain, Georgia still remains anonymous. This is one of those lottery stories that you just cannot get out of your mind. Unless the winning numbers (8, 14, 17, 20, 39 with a Mega number of 7) are somehow important to the individual that played them, someone may be walking around right now struggling to pay their bills, not even knowing that somewhere on their possession or in their home is a $324 million piece of paper!
Russ Lopez is a California Lottery spokesman, and he said that at this point, “We’re still waiting,” which may be the lottery understatement of the year. The life-changing ticket will no doubt transform someone’s life in a big way, but who is it? Of course, sometimes intelligent lottery winners make sure they do not become one of those sad lottery stories you read about where an instant millionaire loses all their money. Perhaps the newly rich Mega Millions player is contacting attorneys and accountants before coming forward, to ensure they make the right decisions with the king’s ransom they just won.
But for those of us who love enthralling lottery stories, and are not holding the lucky ticket, this is a very interesting and entertaining piece of drama. And while $324 million is obviously an incredible amount of money, a Vietnamese immigrant who traveled here 20 years ago with very little money to create a hopefully rags-to-riches story in America just became a millionaire as well, to a lesser extent. Thuy Nguyen, the gentleman who owned the store where the lucky ticket was sold that we referred to above, will receive a check for $1 million simply for selling the winning Mega Millions jackpot ticket.
And while we wonder where the lucky multimillionaire is that purchased that ticket, we do not need to wonder how Ira Curry is claiming her half of the mammoth jackpot. She chose a lump sum, a whopping $123 million after taxes, after experiencing what she says “was a state of disbelief.” If you know anyone who lives in or around the San Jose, California area, give them a call, and this may just turn out to be one of those lottery stories you find yourself involved in personally.
