The day 20-year-old Shane sat down for coffee with his dad seemed like any other day. But what his dad didn’t realize was just how different this day was. Shane had just become a millionaire, and that was just the beginning of how good things were going to get!
Shane Missler lives with his family in Florida, in a suburb of Tampa, called Port Richey. Shane has called the Sunshine State home for several years, but he’s originally from Maine. Because he’s a huge fan of all the New England teams, like the Patriots and the Celtics, Shane missed the East Coast. What Shane didn’t know was that he was about to be able to go back to where he came from.
Shane is a regular player of the lottery. Maybe that’s because, as a human, Shane is pretty optimistic. His social media accounts are made up of uplifting messages and quotes of inspiration. Even his bio states: “I wake up every day saying Thank You.” Maybe that’s why Shane has such incredibly amazing luck!
Shane walked into the 7-11 on 7131 Ridge Road in Pasco County on Friday, January 5th. Shane had won on a scratch-off a few days earlier and still had some of the winnings left in his pocket. So Shane decided to buy five of the quick-pick Mega Millions tickets. Later that same day Shane would find out if he won.
The combination of numbers that won were 28, 30, 39, 59, 70, and the Mega Ball, 10. The winners were on the fourth set of numbers. A half an hour after the numbers had been announced, Shane found out he was the winner. All he wrote on his Facebook page was, “Oh. My. God.” His first phone call to share his news was to his brother. He didn’t want to tell his dad over the phone.
Shane called his father the next day and asked him out for coffee. Once the two had their coffee, Shane told his dad the news. At first, Shane’s dad didn’t believe that he was telling the truth. But when he heard how much the jackpot actually was, he was shocked. Mostly because Shane was the only person who had won!
Shane had just won a Mega Million jackpot of $451 million! The Florida Lottery officials report that the jackpot Shane had won was the fourth largest amount that the Mega Millions lottery, a lottery played in 44 states, had ever given away. Considering how incredibly large the amount was, Shane’s father knew that he needed to be careful.
Shane and his father agreed that Shane needed to obtain a lawyer. The following week, Shane, his dad, and his lawyer, Walt Blenner, went to turn in the winning ticket. Shane always wanted to be flown around in a private jet, so he decided to rent one to fly him to the Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee, Florida. The most surprising part of it all is that Shane only decided to take half of the money!
The winners of Mega Millions can choose two ways to receive their money. The can take installments over 30 years, or a much smaller lump sum. Shane decided to take the lump sum, which brought his winnings down to $281 million – almost as much as Taylor Swift’s net worth. 25% of the earnings will be taken out for federal income taxes, but after that, Shane will take home $211,406,249.25. What’s he going to do with it?
The first thing Shane did as a multi-millionaire was quit his job at the local background screening company. Because he planned on moving away from Tampa Bay, Shane knew he needed to plan for his future. “I intend to take care of my family, have some fun along the way and cement a path for financial success,” he said in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times. Thanks to his father’s advice, Shane will be careful along the way.
After to speaking with his lawyer, Shane asked for the Lottery to pay the money to a trust that was set up. He’s learning how to responsibly manage the money. “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,” he said. It looks like Shane has his head on straight, and all of those around him would agree.
“I can’t see this going off the rails for somebody like him,” said Shane’s former high school soccer coach, Larry Thornton. Thornton remembers Shane being a pretty mature teenager, a leader, and someone who always made people feel welcome. It would appear that Shane is mature in all that he does.
In a statement released on the day he turned in his ticket, Shane said, “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 mindset and stay true to themselves get rewarded.” He posted on Twitter that he was grateful for everyone’s positive thoughts. It just looks like Florida is the place you want to be to win the lottery.
Shane won the highest Mega Millions jackpot in Florida history. Two winners, one from Florida and the other from Maryland, split $414 million in 2014. An 84-year-old Pasco County resident won $590.5 million in 2013. Mega Million administrators are planning on making sure that the amount of money in the jackpots just keep getting bigger and bigger.
The executives of Mega Millions increased the price of tickets last fall, and the amount in the starting jackpot, in order to try to make more people interested in a game with larger jackpots. As of October 28, 2017, the tickets for Mega Millions are now $2 instead of $1, but the minimum jackpot amount is now $40 million instead of $15 million.