[over3Owithabrain]

Whittaker won a nearly $315 million on Christmas 2002, then the largest undivided lottery prize in U.S. history. He took his winnings in a lump sum of $113 million after taxes.

Putting aside this guy's personal story, what a scam the lottery is! The government collects 300 mil from the public and only has to give 100 mil back.

[MediaMole]

They didn't collect 300 million, they would have purchased an annuity that paid a total of 300 million over 25 - 30 years.

He got the amount that the annuity would have cost. The payout from the lottery authority is the same with either option.

As it is, he would have only received about 55 - 60 million after taxes. Still, that should be enough to keep anyone out of the poorhouse.