$553 Million jackpot Winner identified [Photos]

Richard Wahl, of Vernon, New Jersey, was named as the winner of a $533 million lottery prize

A New Jersey production manager stepped out of obscurity on Friday to reveal himself as the newest millionaire-by-chance after a $2 Mega Millions ticket he bought at a gas station last month yielded him a jackpot of more than a half billion dollars.

Richard Wahl, who moved from Michigan last summer to take a job at a Hillside, New Jersey-based food service industry supplier, said he probably will stop working and use his winnings to help his family and friends. It was just the fourth time the jackpot has surpassed the $500 million mark, lottery officials have said.

“Our goal is to do a lot of charity work and to do good work for people who need it,” Wahl said at a news conference at New Jersey Lottery headquarters in Trenton, New Jersey, as his new team of financial advisers looked on.

Wahl, 47 of Vernon, New Jersey, had previously claimed his prize, but state lottery officials had kept his identity secret until Friday.

Wahl bought the ticket that hit the $533 million jackpot on March 30, a day before the drawing, at a Lukoil gas station and mini-mart in Riverdale, New Jersey. Gas station owner Ameer Krass received a $30,000 bonus for having sold the ticket.

Since he selected the cash option over the annuity, Wahl will receive only $324.6 million, which New Jersey Lottery officials estimated will leave him with a net of about $221 million after federal and state taxes.