A 20-year-old won $621 million in a lottery. He's just retired. Photo / 123RF
How do you tell your father that you've just won $621 million?
For 20-year-old Shane Missler, it was over coffee the day after he hit the lottery jackpot.
Missler, from Port Richey, a suburb of Tampa, was the winner of the whopping US$451 million Mega Millions prize, the Florida Lottery announced.
That amounts to about NZ$621 million.
He has since retired from his job at a local background screening company, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
According to the Lottery, Missler elected to receive his payment as a one-time lump sum, which amounted to about NZ385 million (just over US$280 million).
That's about the net worth of Taylor Swift, according to a Forbes article from 2017, but a touch under Judge Judy's.
"If there is one thing I have learned thus far in my short time on this earth it is that those who maintain a positive mind-set and stay true to themselves get rewarded," Missler said, in a statement quoted by the Times. "I look forward to the future."
The newspaper reported Missler had turned his winning ticket in on Friday, "grinning widely."
Missler had told the Lottery that he had "a feeling" that he might win.
His brother was the first person he called after learning of the extraordinary news, before telling his father the next morning, the Lottery reported.
The money will be paid to a trust run by Missler, the Times said. Missler told the paper that he planned to help his family, have some fun along the way, and make sure his financial success extended far into the future.
"Although I'm young, I've had a crash course this week in financial management and I feel so fortunate to have this incredible wealth and team behind me," Missler said in his statement to the Times.
The winning numbers, drawn on a Friday night earlier this month, were 28, 30, 39, 59, 70 and 10.
Missler bought the quick-pick ticket at a 7-Eleven in town the week before the draw; the retailer received a $100,000 bonus, the Lottery said.
But it was Missler who went home with the big haul, which was the fourth-biggest in the multistate lottery's 15-year-old history.
Missler's lawyer, Walt Blenner, could not be immediately reached for comment.
All lottery winnings are subject to a 25 percent federal tax withholding. Most states also charge taxes, but Florida does not.
This win comes just a few years after another Florida winner split a sizable haul with a winner from Maryland. Winners from the two states won the $414 million Mega Millions jackpot in 2014.
The odds of winning the jackpot are about one in 302 million.
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