Woman wins $343,000 in lottery game but loses a third in an instant

ONE LUCKY woman has won hundreds of thousands of dollars after placing a last-minute $1 bet on an online game.

Carletta Woodall was about to go to bed on Thursday night last week when she decided to place a cheap bet on a digital game, according to Lottery officials.

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This spur-of-the-moment decision led Woodall to win a $343,099 jackpot.

“I couldn’t sleep after that,” Woodall said.

It seems her excitement from this shock win kept her wide awake.

Although Woodall won close to $400,000, she only took home $245,36 when she went to collect the winnings on Tuesday at the lottery headquarters.

Almost a third of the money was lost due to federal and state tax, lottery officials explained.

Woodall, from North Carolina, won the top prize of the ‘Epic Jackpot’ in the Bison Bonanza game, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.

“When the numbers kept going up, I was like, ‘no way,” Woodall said.

The odds of winning are one in 31 million – the numbers were in her favor that night.

“You can imagine how shocked I was,” she explained.

Woodall wants to use some of the winnings to travel.

“I’ve never been to Vegas so I want to take a trip there,” she told CBS 17.

She plans to share the rest of the money with her family and invest in some home repairs, according to lottery officials.

Despite losing almost a third of the winnings to tax, Woodall still went home on Tuesday with a sizeable cheque.

Lottery winnings: lump sum or annuity?

Players who win big on lottery tickets typically have a choice to make: lump sum or annuity?

The two payout methods can impact how much money you get from your prize.

Annuities pay out slowly in increments, often over 30 years.

Lump sums pay all at once but in a smaller amount, as taxes are withheld in one go. That means 24% of your prize goes to Uncle Sam right away. Many states tax winnings as well.

Annuities can provide winners time to set up the financial infrastructure required to take in a life-changing amount of money, but lump sums have the benefit of being taxed only once.

Inflation is also worth considering when making a choice, as payouts do not adjust with the value of a dollar. That means that you’ll likely be getting less valuable money towards the end of an annuity.

Each state and game pays out prizes differently, so it’s best to check with your state’s lottery to confirm payment policies. A financial advisor can also help you weigh the pros and cons of each option.

Experts have varying opinions on whether to take the lump sum or take the annuity.

A similar story was reported on earlier this week after a woman in Massachusetts won a $1 million Powerball prize but lost over $240,000 to tax.

The lucky woman was unaware that she had won this hefty sum until she scanned it at the score.

24% of the winnings were taxed after she received them.

It does not matter whether a winner chooses to receive the money as a lump sum or through annual payments, they are still subject to federal tax.

Another North Carolina lottery winner, Daniel Brose, won a $100,00 jackpot on July 10 after purchasing a $1 ticket.

Similar to other lottery winners, Brose lost nearly $30,000 due to federal tax.

Once taxed, he took home $71,502 from the $100,000 winnings.