Shane Missler, 20, was the sole winner of the $450 Mega Millions jackpot that was drawn on January 5. When he revealed himself this week to the public, it became known he opted for a lump-sum payment of $281.9 million ($211.4 million after taxes) instead of annual payments.
I'm 20, born and raised in Maine! I have an opportunity to make an impact on the world and I plan to seize it! (Yes.I won the lottery) I'm a kid with big dreams so follow me. Shane Missler, 20, who resided in Port Richey, was the single winner in the Jan. Shane Missler, 20, won the fourth-largest Mega Millions Lottery haul ever, taking home $211,406,249.25 in a one-time payout of the $451 million top prize. That’s not a problem faced by 20-year-old Shane Missler, winner of the fourth-largest haul in Mega Millions’ 21 years of handing out large bundles of cash. He’s on record as saying he wants to “do some good” for humanity, but I suspect he may have to do some good in the identification verification sweepstakes first.
He offered this statement through his lawyer after he claimed the jackpot on Friday in Tallahassee: “I’m only 20, but I hope to use it to pursue a variety of passions, help my family and do some good for humanity.”
The money will be paid to a trust Missler set up with his family called “Secret 007, LLC,” lottery officials told the Associated Press.
“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, told the Tampa Bay Times that he will move from his hometown of Port Richey. “I intend to take care of my family, have some fun along the way and cement a path for financial success so that I can leave a legacy far into the future.”
Missler’s winning numbers were 28, 30, 39, 59, 70 and the Mega Ball number of 10. The ticket was one of five quick-pick tickets he bought at a 7-Eleven near his home, which will receive a $100,000 prize for selling the winning ticket. The Mega Millions lottery game is open to players in 44 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C.
Actually winning the lottery incredibly unlikely. Official figures place the chances of winning the jackpot at a staggering 303 million to one.
In winning, Missler beat the odds of these highly unlikely statistical events:
- Getting hit by a falling coconut and dying (250 million to one).
- Getting crushed by a vending machine and dying (112 million to one).
- Giving birth to identical quadruplets (15 million to one).
- Getting killed by lightning (10 million to one).
- Dying from being left-handed and incorrectly using a right-handed product (4.4 million to one).
- Getting crushed by a meteor (700,000 to one).
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The 20-year-old became one of the biggest winners in Mega Millions history on Friday 5th January, and came forward a few days ago to tell his story. Along with his plans to ‘have some fun’, Missler spoke about how fortunate he felt and how he intended to use the money to help out others, and it is those generous words which have been seized upon by scammers.
Shane Missler Twitter
A fake account quickly appeared which was offering $5,000 to the first 50,000 followers to like or retweet one of its posts. Twitter users were asked to share their Venmo and PayPal account emails as a response to another post, while others asking for money were asked to send private messages. The account, which attracted more than 50,000 likes and retweets, has since been deleted, but many others are still present and Missler has told people not to fall into the trap.
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“Unfortunately many fake accounts have already circulated. My only active and real accounts are Instagram and Twitter both @TheShaneMissler,' wrote Missler, who admits he has had a ‘crash course’ in financial management since finding out about his win.
How To Avoid Lottery Scams
Shane Missler Girlfriend
One of the most common types of lottery scam is for fraudsters to impersonate big winners such as Missler and pretend they want to donate some of their money, perhaps by saying they have set up some sort of trust. While some winners are very charitable, they do not contact strangers to give their cash away. The aim of these scams is to extract financial or personal information so they can eventually steal your money.
In most cases, scams are easy to spot. The fake Missler account offering $5,000 to 50,000 followers, for example, claimed that it was ready to give away a total of $250 million. In reality, Missler opted for a one-off cash payment of $282 million and will only receive around $211.4 million after federal income taxes.
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember, you can not win a lottery prize for a game that you have not entered, and would never be asked to make a payment by a legitimate lottery in order to receive a prize.