Feeling lucky? An RI man wins $4M prize from a gifted Mass Lottery scratch-off
Winning the lottery isn't impossible, just improbable.
Barrington resident Steven Richard won the $4 million prize from a Massachusetts State Lottery scratch ticket his father gave him.
Richard won the $4,000,000 Bonus Bucks ticket game. The odds of him winning were 1 in 5,376,000, according to the Massachusetts State Lottery.
Receiving the ticket from his father during breakfast on March 29, Richard said he couldn't believe it when he went to cash in the ticket on the Mass Lottery app and saw the final result. He called his wife, then his dad to let them know the good news.
How much did he really get paid
He chose a lump-sum prize of $2.6 million before taxes. Richard took the one-time payment over being given $200,000 over the course of 20 years.
He said he wants to use some of the money for travelling with his wife.
How much will he have to pay in taxes
Net lottery winnings are considered ordinary taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service. So, after subtracting the ticket's $10 cost, Richard will owe federal income taxes on the rest of the $2.6 million he won. The amount that he will owe is based on his current tax bracket.
Richard will also have to pay Rhode Island's 5.99% state tax.
Lottery: What does Rhode Island do with lottery revenues? Here's how it's spent
Also, for lottery prizes that are $5,000 and greater, 24% of the prize is withheld and sent to the IRS, and 5% is withheld and sent to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, according to the Massachusetts State Lottery.
The store that sold the golden ticket
Star Country Store and Deli in Westport, Mass., sold the ticket and will receive a $40,000 bonus for selling a winning ticket. The store is located at 526 Sanford Road.
Who knows? Maybe they'll sell another winning ticket this year.
Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on wickedlocal.com: Massachusetts State Lottery Winner: $4M prize goes to RI resident
