>>>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20530196/
>>>This couple has won the lottery AGAIN!.
>>>
>>>The first time around they won 2.5 million. If they had invested it in a 5% interest
>>>savings acount, they could be living of $125,000 a year. So, other than greed, why play again?
>>
>>I'm more interested in why, if they won 5 million, they are only getting 2.5 million. How come?
>
>One possibility is that there was another winning ticket.
>
>Another possibility is that the winning amount is described as the total amount of a series of payments (usually over 20-30 years depending on the particular lottery). You have an option on getting either the annuity or cash value.

I imagine it's probably the second. The article made it seem (to me anyway) that they won it alone.

I also wonder how the $2.5 million payout is determined. after all, they can't have that many years left. Maybe the payments would continue to their heirs after they've gone?