The Powerball winner who hit the jackpot Christmas Day may be able to stay out of the spotlight for years. The winning ticket was sold in Arkansas, one of a growing number of states that allows lottery winners to keep their identities private.
The record-breaking Powerball run ended Christmas morning when a ticket sold at a Murphy USA gas station in Cabot, Arkansas matched all six numbers: 4, 25, 31, 52, 59 and red Powerball 19.
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It marks just the second time an Arkansas player has won the Powerball jackpot. The first came in 2010.
The prize — $1.8 billion, the largest jackpot of the year and the second-largest in U.S. lottery history — comes with a lump-sum cash option of $834.9 million before taxes.
Staying out of the public eye
While the location of the winning ticket is known, the identity of the winner may not be, at least not anytime soon.
Arkansas law allows lottery winners who claim $500,000 or more to remain anonymous for up to three years, according to CNN. Winners of prizes over $1 million must claim their ticket in person, but can still choose to keep their name private afterward.
Arkansas joins states like New Jersey, Georgia, and Arizona, which allow winners to shield their identities, often by claiming prizes through a blind trust or LLC.
Why some winners choose anonymity
Winning $1.8 billion might sound like something you’d want to shout from the rooftops. But that level of wealth can also bring serious downsides: security concerns, constant requests for money, and intense public scrutiny.
That’s why many winners choose to stay anonymous, at least at first, while they figure out how to manage their new reality.
Straight Arrow News previously spoke with attorneys and a financial planner about what to do after a big lottery win. One consistent piece of advice: don’t make promises too quickly.
“Don’t make any promises,” financial planner Robert Pagliarini told Straight Arrow News. ”People are super excited, they’ve got this money and they want to help their friends and their family and so they start making all these promises. And so at this point in the win, early on, you just really don’t know how much money you have.”
For this winner, staying anonymous could buy something even more valuable than money: time to plan, breathe, and adjust to life-changing news.
