An unexpected attitude forever changed the trajectory of Kelly Lindsey, a resident of Carrollton, in the United States. When purchasing a Virginia Lottery ticket at a gas station, she requested a scratch-off ticket with lucky numbers.
However, the merchant gave him a different card. Despite the possibility of exchanging the product, she decided to keep the ticket – and ended up being considered.
Fortunately, Kelly earned 2 million dollars, that is, almost 12 million reais at the current price. The chance of winning the top prize in the Money Blitz game was only 1 in 1,142,400.
Lottery prize
To redeem the prize, Kelly needed to make an important decision:
- Pocket the 2 million dollars in annual installments over three decades, or
- Pocket a smaller amount in one go.
The Carrollton resident opted for the second alternative and immediately received $1.25 million. With this decision, she became the second person to receive the biggest prize in this type of game.
In your region, the lottery has already reached several residents. Since 2023, prizes distributed in the county have already surpassed the 3 million dollar mark.
In addition to the decrease due to immediate receipt, the premium was also impacted by federal and state tax discounts. This is because in the state of Virginia, lottery prizes are taxed significantly.
According to the Virginia Lottery’s tax calculator, the $1.25 million was deducted
- Federal tax: 24%, equivalent to 300 thousand dollars;
- State tax: 4%, equivalent to 50 thousand dollars.
Therefore, Kelly ended up with a net worth close to 900 thousand dollars.
Benefits for state education
According to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, in the last fiscal year the State Lottery raised around 940 million dollars. Furthermore, part of these amounts is allocated to improving conditions in state educational institutions.
In Isle of Wight County, where Kelly Lindsey currently resides, more than $3.7 million has been directed toward educational programs and school infrastructure improvements.
