Greenville, SC (Greenville News) - It's been a month since someone bought the $1.5 billion winning lottery ticket in Simpsonville.
And they haven't claimed the money yet but there's still plenty of time.
The store, KC Mart #7 at 303 Lee Vaughn Road, is well known by now but the winner remains anonymous and could stay anonymous even after claiming it.
There's no guarantee that the winner even knows they've won, said Julie Huffman, a beneficiary coordinator with the South Carolina Lottery Commission.
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The winner or their representatives have not contacted the state lottery commission as of Wednesday, she said.
She recommends everyone who bought a ticket at the store to check the numbers and to sign the back of the ticket.
It's more likely, however, that the winner knows but simply hasn't come forward yet, said Jason Kurland, a New York attorney specializing in lottery winnings.
Given the size of this lottery and the attention, the winner has probably already figured it out but there have been major jackpots before where the winner didn't know, he said.
South Carolina is a great place for a winner to take their time before coming forward to claim the prize, he said.
Waiting does mean losing tens of thousands of dollars in potential interest every day the money isn't claimed, Kurland said.
But given the size of the jackpot, that may be a less important consideration than getting everything ready, he said.
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South Carolina is one of eight that allows winners to remain anonymous.
Staying anonymous takes one of the most pressure-filled parts of winning out of the equation, Kurland said.
The press conference where a winner picks up a giant, and worthless, check is a real stress on a lot of winners, he said.
So with the anonymity, don't expect someone to show up at a South Carolina press conference sporting a fake beard and ridiculous sunglasses.
The winner has 180 days from the drawing, until late April, to claim the ticket.
That wait will allow the winner to set up their financial advisers and wills and to get a handle on charitable activities, Kurland said.
The jackpot is an expected windfall for South Carolina, with income taxes of about $60 million, officials said. And another $10 million in ticket sales from that lottery jackpot will go toward education programs.
But if the 180-day deadline comes and goes, the jackpot will get divided among the Mega Millions states, based on ticket sales. There will be no income taxes but the state would get a share.
The Simpsonville jackpot is the biggest single lottery win in history, a 2016 Powerball drawing was $49 million (3 percent) higher but it was split three ways.
The third biggest lottery winner was a $759 million Powerball ticket in 2017.
The $1.537 billion Simpsonville prize reflects the annuity option, paid over 29 years. However, nearly all winners take the cash option, which for would be an estimated $878 million.
The winning numbers were 5, 28, 62, 65, 70 and Mega Ball 5. The odds of matching all six numbers and winning the top prize was 1 in 302.5 million.
A Manning man learned today that he had won $1 million in an unrelated second chance scratch-off drawing, according to a statement from the state lottery commission.
