R.I. would make $23M off jackpot winner

By PBN Staff
Twitter: @ProvBusNews

PROVIDENCE – If a Rhode Islander wins today’s record $540 million Mega Millions jackpot, the Ocean State’s coffers could pull in as much as $23.3 million, according to the Associated Press.

The lump-sum payout on a lone Mega Millions jackpot-winner would be an estimated $389.8 million.

In Rhode Island, where taxes collect 5.99 percent of winnings, the state would land an estimated $23.3 million.

The money could help balance the current $22 million budget gap for school district aid or cover most of the $25 million bond for affordable housing voters could see on the ballots this fall, according to the news organization.

The Rhode Island government will already see more than its fair share of lottery taxes this year.

An 81-year-old Newport woman won the $336.4 million Feb. 11 jackpot and the March 7 winning ticket for $60 million was also sold in the Ocean State.

The Rhode Island Association of School Committees asked the state to use the $17 million windfall in place of a $20 million bond to improve technology and wireless Internet in schools.