Can Powerball $2.04 Billion winner stay anonymous to claim their jackpot prize?
/This month’s record $2 Billion Powerball winner cannot remain anonymous according to California state law.
The state is one of 43 in the United States that requires lottery winners to reveal their identity when they collect their jackpot prize from the California Lottery.
There are only seven US states where residents can remain anonymous: Delaware (DE), Kansas (KS), Maryland (MD), North Dakota (ND), Ohio (OH), South Carolina (SC) and Texas (TX).
One of the main reasons the lotteries are required to provide identification of the winners is for transparency.
It shows winners are real people and builds public trust in the lottery and draw process.
Are you the billion-dollar Powerball winner? Here's what you should have done after you won the lottery prize and before you collect the check:
1. Sign your ticket immediately with your name and address.
2. Take a closeup photo of both sides of the ticket.
3. Put the winning ticket in a sealed plastic bag for protection.
4. Keep the ticket on you until you can put it in a bank safe. Some winners tape the ticket to their bodies.
5. Tell no one, even your family. The fewer people who know, the better.
Another winner, Christopher Wujek, who scratched a $1 million jackpot in 2021, had some advice for winners.
The Windsor, Connecticut resident advised: “Disappear off the planet.”
And he added, “it’s important people resist the urge to shout their win from the rooftops.”
“Get a lawyer you know, get some advice from someone you trust and get someone who can help you navigate the tax hurdles that Uncle Sam throws your way,” Chris said.
1. $2.04 billion: Nov. 7, 2022
2. $1.586 billion: Jan. 13, 2016 – CA, FL, TN
3. $768.4 million: March 27, 2019 – WI
4. $758.7 million: Aug. 23, 2017 – MA
5. $731.1 million: Jan. 20, 2021 – MD
6. $699.8 million: Oct. 4, 2021 – CA
7. $687.8 million: Oct. 27, 2018 – IA, NY
8. $632.6 million: Jan. 5, 2022 – CA, WI
9. $590.5 million: May 18, 2013 – FL
10. $587.5 million: Nov. 28, 2012 – AZ, MO