You’ll likely never know who won the Mega Millions jackpot last week that wound up exceeding $1.3 billion, thanks to an Illinois law.
Lottery winners of $250,000 or more have the option of claiming their winnings anonymously, according to the Illinois Lottery.
Other states that allow some form of anonymity for lottery winners include New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming, according to a list compiled by Fox News.
The winning ticket for the $1.34 billion prize — the lottery’s second-largest of all time — was sold at the Speedway gas station in Des Plaines, Illinois, according to multiple reports. The winner was announced on July 30.
The public isn’t the only ones in the dark about who is now a billion dollars richer. Lottery officials have said that the winner has yet to come forward as of Monday.
“We have not heard from the winner yet,” Harold Mays, director of the Illinois lottery, said during a Saturday press conference. “We don’t know whether or not they’re aware they’ve won this incredible prize. So we’re telling all of our players — check your tickets.”
It’s not uncommon for winners to move slowly when coming to claim their winnings, according to Mr. Mays. He said that people usually take their time to get their affairs in order and to prepare their family.
While winners have a year to claim their prize, they only have 60 days to decide if they want their payout to be a lump sum or annual payments.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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