So, picture this: It’s March 25, 2025, and somewhere in the quiet little town of Cortland, Illinois, a Mega Millions ticket suddenly decides it’s had enough of being just a piece of paper. Nope, this one turned into a golden ticket worth a mind-boggling $349 million! Talk about a glow-up! And where did this magic happen? None other than the local Casey’s General Store. That store must have been buzzing like a beehive that just discovered a sugar mountain. Now, the lucky Mega Millions winners holding this winning ticket weren’t exactly doing backflips on live TV the next day. No, this mysterious group, which later called themselves “Blessed” (fitting, right?), played it super cool. They spent over a month chilling, probably getting advice from every lawyer and financial guru they could find, before finally stepping out into the spotlight on April 30th. Smart move. You don’t want to accidentally buy a solid gold yacht before figuring out the tax situation.
Lump Sum Payout for the Mega Millions Winners
Speaking of taxes, the U.S. government and the state of Illinois came knocking. From that sweet $349 million, Uncle Sam took a casual $83.8 million (ouch!), and Illinois grabbed another $17.3 million. Even after that hefty haircut, the “Blessed” crew still walked away with about $248 million in cash. That’s enough to buy a whole lot of snacks at Casey’s, plus, you know, fund some actual good stuff. And that’s exactly what they say they plan to do. The Mega Millions winners are talking about helping out charities and their community, which is pretty awesome. Beats buying a private island just to get away from it all (though, no judgment if they do that too with a portion of it!). Oh, and let’s not forget Casey’s! They got a nice little thank-you bonus of $500,000 from the Illinois Lottery for selling the winning ticket. That’s enough to probably upgrade their coffee machine… maybe even get two! This win marks the fourth time since June 2021 that Illinois has churned out a Mega Millions jackpot winner. Clearly, something lucky is in the water (or maybe the deep-dish pizza?) over there. What’s cool about this story isn’t just the mountain of cash, but how low-key “Blessed” the Mega Millions winners seem to be. No flashy press conference with everyone wearing diamond-encrusted hats. Just a quiet statement about doing good with the money. It’s almost… humble.