Here are 11 weird photos of lottery winners who didn't want any publicity
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Neysa Thomas of the Kansas Lottery places a check for $218 million on a silhouette for an anonymous winner.
There are 6 American states which allow winners to remain anonymous: Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Carolina.
Everywhere else jackpot winners have to identify themselves. But in China it's a different story - winners can stay anonymous, and many do by dressing in costume to conceal their identity.
Here are 11 of the strangest get-ups you'll never see in any Western countries.
This winner is believed to be about 40 years old, and was so worried about revealing his identity that he turned up dressed as the popular Disney character Baymax!
The man revealed that he had won 170 million yuan (approximately $27 million) even though he rarely buys lottery tickets. As for the strange costume, the man revealed that his wife forced him into wearing it, fearing that old friends and long-lost relatives might suddenly show up expecting a small share of the prize.
The winner in a panda costume collected the 565 million yuan (US$91.1m) jackpot in 2011.
In August 2014, Mickey Mouse took home a whopping 398 million yuan (US$6.4m).
Anything goes when it comes to protecting your identity.
This is not an original way to hide, but it works for reducing publicity to just the presentation ceremony.
While Panda bears are certainly popular, no costume can evade the 20% tax that winners in China are required to pay.
We think this winner is wearing a mask, and he's double-protecting his face by turning his back.
In October 2014, this winner from Shanxi province collected his 520 million yuan (US$84 million) prize dressed in a yellow bear suit. He actually wore the suit throughout a press conference, answering all sorts of questions from reporters.
Unlike the Baymax man in the first photo, this winner said that he routinely spent 20,000 to 30,000 yuan (US$3200-4800) on lottery tickets each year. His persistence finally paid off when he won this third-largest jackpot handed out in China’s history.
SOURCE: Oddity Central
RELATED: Should Lottery Players Be Allowed To Stay Anonymous When They Win?
