Mega Millions: Second winner remains unknown
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| ATLANTA
A 56-year-old聽Georgia聽woman played numbers from family birth dates to win half of a near-record $648 million Mega Millions聽jackpot, but the buyer of a second winning ticket sold in聽California聽has yet to come forward, lottery officials said on Wednesday.
Ira Curry聽purchased the ticket Friday at an聽Atlanta聽newsstand and claimed her prize at the state's lottery headquarters on Wednesday, choosing to receive a lump-sum cash payment of $173.8 million after taxes, lottery officials said.
She otherwise could have opted for a larger annuity sum that would have been paid over 30 years.
"It's unreal," Curry, who lives in the聽Atlanta聽suburb of Stone Mountain, was quoted by lottery officials as saying in a press release. "It's like I'm still dreaming."
Curry told lottery officials she has not decided how she and her family will spend her winnings, said聽Debbie Alford, president and chief executive officer of the聽Georgia聽Lottery Corp.
Georgia聽income tax of 6 percent and federal income tax of 25 percent are withheld from state lottery prizes of more than $5,000.
Lottery officials said they have yet to identify the purchaser, or group of purchasers, of a second winning ticket sold at a gift shop in聽San Jose,听颁补濒颈蹿辞谤苍颈补.
The jackpot was the second largest in U.S. lottery history, just short of the record U.S. jackpot of $656 million won in a March 2012 Mega Millions聽drawing.
Young Soo Lee, who owns a Gateway Newsstand, said she was thrilled to learn from local television news that someone had purchased a winning ticket at her store.
"I'm so happy," said Lee, who came to the聽United States聽from聽Korea聽in 1980 and bought the newsstand nine years ago.
Lee said even her customers who did not win were sharing in the excitement.
"Everybody is a hug, a hug, a hug," she said.
The other winning ticket was sold at a retail location called Jennifer's Gift Shop on Tully Road in聽San Jose, according to聽Alex Traverso, a聽California聽lottery official.
California聽lottery official聽Cathy Johnston聽said the shop was owned by Thuy Nguyen, who, according to the聽San Jose聽Mercury News, took over the business four months ago.
Under聽California's lottery rules, Nguyen will receive a $1 million cash bonus for selling a winning ticket.聽Georgia聽lottery retailers earn a flat 6 percent commission based on sales but receive no bonuses for winning tickets sold at their location.
The winning numbers for Tuesday's drawing were: 8, 14, 17, 20, 39 and 7.
Georgia's jackpot winner told lottery officials she chose her numbers based on a combination of family birthdays and her family's lucky number, 7, a lottery spokeswoman said.
When she heard the retail location of where the winning ticket in聽Atlanta聽was sold and one of the winning numbers on the radio while driving, she stopped to call her daughter to check the numbers and discovered she had won, lottery officials said.
Curry, who is married, has asked lottery officials not to disclose further information about her or her family for now. She said she is not planning to address the media directly.
As many as 70 percent of Mega Millions聽tickets are typically bought on the day of the drawing, said聽Paula Otto,聽Virginia's lottery director and lead director of the multi-state Mega Millions聽game.
Ticket buying reached a fever pitch over the weekend, with 20 percent more chances sold than expected, Otto said.
(Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Writing by Steve Gorman and Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Gunna Dickson and Lisa Shumaker)