Shane Missler: The 20-Year-Old Who Just Won a Very Large Amount of Money
303 million to one? No problem.
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.
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 Facebook post the night he learned he won a $451 million lottery jackpot.
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).
