Lump sum too big a gamble for $42M lottery winner

[October 10, 2008]  LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A winner of a $42 million Mega Millions jackpot in Michigan may do something almost unheard of: receive the money in installments rather than getting a smaller, one-time cash payment.

The winner of the Oct. 3 jackpot indicated a preference for taking the annuity. State lottery spokeswoman Andi Brancato says she can't remember a Mega Millions winner in Michigan ever doing that since the game was launched in 2002.

The winner will be announced Friday at a news conference.

Lottery winners typically take a lump-sum payment with plans to invest it, but confidence in the market has dropped with the current financial crisis. The Dow has lost nearly 40 percent since closing at its all-time high a year ago.

[Associated Press]

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