NY Lottery says it goofed: Mahopac winner got $31 million after taxes

Comment #20

KY Floyd — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 06:33:44 GMT

They all say I'm bigger or it got bigger.

If they've got commercials that say that I haven't seen them yet. Even without saying what got bigger, I think they'd be leaving themselves open to having to prove that something will get bigger if you take it. I don't know how effective they are at selling the stuff, but I think the commercials are brilliant in the way they simply use suggestive statements without really saying anything. I'm assuming the only benefit to the product is from whateve... [ More ]

Comment #19

justxploring — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:39:08 GMT

Except for federal and state income tax (if there is a state tax) there will be an estate tax if you die and leave over $2 million, which also includes property value. Also, there are limits to what you can give away without being penalized with a gift tax. As KY Floyd stated, there is no luxury tax on the prize.

KY FLoyd writes: Think about one of the most heavily advertised products on TV. What does Enzyte do? It's a natural male enhancement and that's it. I don't know what's enh... [ More ]

Comment #18

KY Floyd — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:36:59 GMT

There's no question that there are plenty of people making false and misleading claims when they market their goods. How does that absolve anybody else who does it?

Most of the things you mention don't actually violate the rules. For the most part there are no rules against selling gizmos and gadgets, cheap knock-off jewelry, gems and stones .The rules are about the claims made when selling the products. If you pay attention to the claims for many of the other products you cite you may notice... [ More ]

Comment #17

KY Floyd — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:25:59 GMT

Lottery winnings are income, and it's an income tax. Luxury taxes are added to sales or other taxes when you buy something.

Comment #16

superbama — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 10:00:23 GMT

speaking of taxes. After winning the jackpot is the federal amount deducted a income tax or some kind of luxury tax? Do the bust you with this tax then hit you with an income tax also

Comment #15

Todd — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 03:21:04 GMT

Not at all, I knock the states sites myself all the time

Comment #14

gocart1 — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 21:24:56 GMT

hello todd,, and thats why i love this webpage...keep up the great work ...i hope you didn't think i was knocking you .i was knocking the states lottery pages........................

Comment #13

justxploring — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 19:21:16 GMT

I wrote: Very few people take annual payments. Let's say someone really goofed (not on purpose) and added a zero. Wouldn't you be thrilled to win $10 million even if you thought it was going to be $100 million?

I want to clarify - I was talking about a reporter on the news, not the lottery. If the lottery kept advertising $100 million prize and it was only $10 million, I would consider that to be fraud

Comment #12

justxploring — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 18:36:01 GMT

Very few people take annual payments. Let's say someone really goofed (not on purpose) and added a zero. Wouldn't you be thrilled to win $10 million even if you thought it was going to be $100 million?

Another way to look at this deception (although it's really not, because you do have the option of taking the annuity) is that it helps boost the jackpot by attracting more players, so that's better for us - right? I mean, if only serious lottery players bought tickets, the jackpots wouldn... [ More ]

Comment #11

fja — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 18:17:51 GMT

Why shouldn't advertising for the lotteries have to follow the same rules that apply to other advertisers?

Follow the same rules:

like all those weight loss miracle pills, hair restorers, instant paint removers, body enhancment gels,lotions and pills, anti aging make-up, grass restorers, pain relief for anything that bothers you in one magic bottle. products they claim to improve gas milage, as well as all those gizmos and gadgets, cheap knock-off jewelry, gems and stones, that inu... [ More ]

Comment #10

KY Floyd — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 17:48:29 GMT

It may not be a big secret to most regular players, but what does that have to do with whether or not it's the ethical way to do it? $1 paid over 25 years is not $1, but that's how annuitized prizes are always advertised. Nobody eats their rice straight out of the box, but it's illegal to advertise a one pound box of rice as 3 pounds even if there's a disclaimer that the weight refers to the cooked weight. Why shouldn't advertising for the lotteries have to follow the same rules that apply to... [ More ]

Comment #9

Todd — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 16:26:30 GMT

Good one

Comment #8

fja — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 15:07:42 GMT

Well its not like its a big secret to any regular lottery players.....cash value breakdown is posted in all state lottery websites I believe,,,,

Next thing you'll know is that people would want all the shopping stores to put a disclaimer sign next to the Santa Claus the kids take a picture with....

Comment #7

spy153 — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:05:32 GMT

Ooooooh! You think it was? Oh, I hope you are right. That would be very encouraging.

Comment #6

tnlotto1 — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 08:29:20 GMT

thanks for Todd i didnt know usa mega had this feature.

Comment #5

KY Floyd — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 07:30:51 GMT

This is far more than a simple goof . Somebody screwed up big time, and I wouldn't be surprised if some heads roll. The $45 million figure was the lump sum cash value, and as near as I can tell it's strictly against NY lottery policy to tell the public what the cash value is.

Staying truer to form, the correct after tax amount they've announced is actually the after withholding amount. The true after tax amount will almost certainly be about $4 million less.

Comment #4

Todd — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 05:51:33 GMT

Here's the actual values, after taxes, for both Powerball and Mega Millions. USA Mega is the originator of the Jackpot Analysis feature, which shows the after-tax value for every state each game is played in.

The analysis pages are updated immediately after either of the jackpots change.

Mega Millions: http://www.usamega.com/mega-millions-jackpot.htm

Powerball: http://www.usamega.com/powerball-jackpot.htm

Comment #3

gocart1 — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 02:25:42 GMT

i agree with JAP69that lotteries should announce the cash values .after looking at the breakdown of the taxes ,seen here ,on the lottery post,its EXTREMELY missleading.its almost freudualant. but ,then again i could use a few million bucks.

Comment #2

LOTTOMIKE — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 01:44:25 GMT

cash only was from mahopac if i remember correctly.

Comment #1

JAP69 — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 01:38:18 GMT

Proclaim big prizes when the actual cash value is a lot less.

Lotteries should be made to announce the cash value and not the long term annuity value.

Either That they should announce both in their advertising.

NY Lottery says it goofed: Mahopac winner got $31 million after taxes

Lottery Post — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 01:29:03 GMT

The New York State Lottery has acknowledged that it made a $14 million mistake when it announced the amount of last week's Mega Millions award to a Putnam County man at Grand Central Terminal.

The winning ticket bought by William James Albertson from Mahopac actually brought him an after-tax prize of $30.7 million. At the big announcement, presided over by Lottery Director Gordon Medenica and Lottery announcers Yolanda Vega and Ralph Buckley, Lottery staff told reporters that Albertson would... [ More ]