By Todd Northrop
TOPEKA, Kansas — The holder of one of three winning tickets in last week's record $656 million Mega Millions drawing came forward Friday to claim a share, Kansas Lottery officials announced Friday afternoon.
The winner — a single ticket holder — has chosen to remain anonymous, state lottery director Dennis Wilson said.
The announcement was made at an afternoon press conference at state lottery headquarters in Topeka.
Under Kansas law, lottery winners can choose not to publicly reveal their identities. The winner has retained legal counsel and financial advisers and "looks forward to retiring," Wilson said.
Kansas was one of three states where three tickets matched the winning numbers — 2, 4, 23, 38, and 46, with Mega Ball number 23 — amounting to an equal share of roughly $218.6 million, before taxes, under the annuity option. The Kansas lottery player purchased the winning ticket at a Casey's convenience store in Ottawa.
The winner has chosen to take a one-time lump-sum payment of about $157 million before taxes.
"It'll take a few days for us to transfer the money to their account. It was a single ticket holder — one person claimed the ticket," Wilson said.
"They were still just in awe that they had won it," Wilson said of the winner, who didn't know the ticket was a winner until Monday.
"They checked it over 10 times ... and still had a hard time believing it," Wilson said.
As for choosing to remain anonymous, Wilson said the winner obviously doesn't want the publicity. "We all have to understand that these kind of winners need time to digest. They were still in awe that they had won it," Wilson said.
"They're like all of us. They think about the possibility of winning but they never think that it would hapen to them — but it did. It proves real people really win — and you could be next.
Two other winning tickets were purchased in Maryland and Illinois.
The Kansas winner is the first to officially come forward, just a week after the winning numbers were picked.
Meanwhile, Maryland lottery officials have been responding to a flurry of questions from the media this week after a Baltimore-area woman told the New York Post that she had one of the winning tickets. However, in a bizarre twist of the story, Mirlande Wilson, a 37-year-old single mother of seven who works at McDonald's, told the Post on Friday that she isn't sure where she last had the ticket.
"I'm still looking for it. I haven't even looked in my uniform pants yet," the Post quoted Wilson as saying. "I'm still looking everywhere to find it, in my purse, everywhere."
The state's lottery director said Thursday he hasn't seen the ticket, but he also says no one else has come forward saying he has it.
Carole Everett, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Lottery, said Tuesday she doesn't "put much stock in that story."
"She claims she won," Everett said. "She can't produce a ticket. ... In our opinion, until they walk in that door, hold that ticket, produce valid identification and our security people can process and validate it, it doesn't matter."
If Wilson is determined to be a winner, a showdown could be brewing with her McDonald's co-workers. They are demanding a share because they say they pooled their money to buy several tickets. Wilson has said the ticket she bought was separate from that.
Thanks to B$Rizzle and hearsetrax for the tip.
Smart move. It is too many crazy people out here ready to take advantage of you and turn your life upside down.
Congratulations to the Kansas winner! May they find peace and happiness knowing that they can retire comfortably now.
"It proves real people really win."
Are you kidding me? Aren't we all real people playing the lottery?
They should let all lottery players to claim anonymously.
ditto,
I dont expect to see these folks on LCML either,
i think ppl. are getting smarter about this stuff,
at the same time i not worried about running out of idiots to entertain us.
Yes Thrifty it should, but once a state starts out w/ public disclosure, its going to be difficult to change that.
ps my ditto comment was at the 1st 2 posters.
What a great story........... with a wealthy "anonymous" ending.......... Wouldn't it be nice to go down the street with a grin on your face everyday for many years to come knowing that you have a little 100 million dollar secret ????
anonymous is lame. we should atleast see who won to proove that its real. on a side note, if you live in a small town where the winning ticket was purchased and you lived there for many years an suddenly your house is up for sale, the townspeople will know who the winner was.
If you want to retire with millions and have a quiet life.. Earn it. If you win out of pure luk it should be known publicly. If you can't handle the attention maybe don't play. Stick to your local smaller jackpot games.
Truth.
Yea, i normally have a smile for ppl. i meet up w/ so no one would suspect.....
ohh wait, at work ppl. would say...whats w/ you ? then i would have to.... oh ...nevermind i won't be there. LOL
look this is the town where the ticket was won. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa,_Kansas looks like the old west, thats how small this town is. i think it would be tough to really remain anonymous.
Thats where the ticket was purchased, didnt say the winner lived there correct ??.....Could have been someone passing through
The world's biggest lottery jackpot is won in two states where you can claim it anonymously and in one state that you can't.
Mega Millions is doing such a great job.
Is there evidence that letting the winner remain anon. has cost the lottery players ?
anon. could have the oppisite effect, if PA. was anon. maybe they would'nt be trying to "sell" their operation.
guessing you're in PA. if it changed to anon. would you quit playing ?
How about not playing the lottery since players are not treated fairly?
Can we say that Kansas lottery officials kept the money for themselves. Where is the real winner? I do not see any. Have you seen any?
The should have shown at least a picture of the winning ticket. I do not see any integrity in Kansas lottery.
HiFi, Minnesnowta,
I can think of plenty of reasons to stay anonymous and not one reason not to.
I think despite the reasons each of you gave for wanting to know who the winner was, you're don't have any valid reason to. A while back someone around here made a score on a Pick 5 and people just could not stand knowing who it was. The convenience store where the ticket was bought posted having sold a winner but wouldn't tell anyone who it was, so people hubng around for over a week trying to find out. Some people not only want to be the one with the info, they want to be the first one with he info.
I hope if either of you ever hit a jackpot you eill see why you should rethink this.
Want to make a list of reasons, pro and con? And picture yourself as having won thejackpot, not a spectator dying to know who won the jackpot.
The media should forget about that lady from Maryland and try to reveal the identity of the Kansas winner.
Yeah? You gonna stand outside their house and protect them from killer leprechauns?
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/229819
There is a way to resolve that Thrifty, ........Move to Kansas, go to work for the lottery commission as an accountant, move up into the admin position and look in the yearly books......Remaining anonymous is a smart move.........You don't get information, you don't get squat and THAT irritates the "Nosey Rosey's" of the world who believe they have a right to know anything about anyone whenever they want......Ain't freedom wonderful ????
Hifi, thanks for the link, but just the same in my travels around the country,
and living in different states i found that most ppl. mind their business,
thought that was especially true in towns like this one.
Time*treat, I guess is fair that most states require lottery players identity?
Some people will whine about anything & everything!
This is the way ALL Lotteries should be, Anonymous period....!!!
To many folks have to deal with other things involving winning the lottery when they have to disclose who they are.
Everyone should sign a petition to have the their States have these people remain anonymous...!
Seeing is Believing. I will never believe that Kansas lottery has a winner until I see a picture of the winner.
Hay..........I hope that the person who won doesn't live within 250 miles of that town !!!!....really P*ss the "WaanaKnowYourBiz" folks right off !!! Or better yet, is a visitor from Germany !!!!
Some people should mind their own business!
And whine about something else .........................
time*treat
if i lived in a town like that, and seen this guy around,
i'd be sure there was a meth factory somewhere in the nearby surburbs.
LOL
dpoly1, would you quit playing if PA. changed to anon. ?
Proving that what's real? The winner? The jackpot? Honestly I don't think that revealing the winners of every jackpot is going to prevent hoaxes of any sort. They still happen whether everyone knows you or not. It's already been proven repeatedly the consequences of revealing winner identities to the public and the harm that comes to those winners. Once you get your check, you're basically on your own.
I don't mind basic information about the winners themselves (gender, age, town) but to reveal the actual name and show their picture is where all the real trouble starts.
I wish the lucky winners plenty of uninterrupted nights of and plenty of days that include plenty of
The lottery integrity is in doubt when 2 out of the 3 winning states for the world's biggest lottery jackpot allow you to remain anonymous.
AAAAAAMEN hearse !!!!
How about playing the lottery like a lab rat and not winning?
Exactly, who needs more proof, anon. is WTG, you hear me Gov. Christie ?
IDK why I would stop playing because you can claim your winnings anonymously .......
The Evil Greed of Envy is far too prevalent today, everyone is "entitled" to what belongs to someone else!
I would love it if everyone had the option to be anonymous!!!!!!!!!
?????????????????????????????????
Thrifty, if your state went anon. would you stop playing ?
Glad to see someone from my state win......just wish it would have been me lol
I wouldn't say "fair"; "reckless" or "irresponsible" is more like it.
MADDOG10, how can we get that started ? can we do that on LP ?
it would stop me from playing .
I feel that lottery players should be able to remain anonymous in every state.The lottery should treat every player equally.
Come awwwwn KSp...we know it was you,,give up the goods !!!!!
lol, the only person whining here is you, whining about peoples comments. everyone else was respectful in their replies except you.
At least one major lottery winner is being smart for once.
You are whining about anonymous winners .............
In case you can't read your own comments ................
I have been as respectful as the comments deserve ....................
Can't be KSp, can it ? i'd be so shook up i could't log on,
oh... wait they had a couple days to calm down, laughing at M/land.
How about lottery gambling addiction? Playing the lottery like a lab rat and not winning.
For all gamblers, even small-time bettors, gambling at the very least correlates with feelings such as irritation, frustration and aggravation then can worsen to agony, depression, violence and suicide. Gamblers may not always admit experiencing these feelings. However, gamblers definitely do experience these feelings. Even small-time $1 a week lottery players get irritated, frustrated and aggravated when always losing. Rarely though do gamblers only bet $1 a week even if saying that. When gamblers who say they only ever bet $1 a week, see a super jackpot getting big and bet $5, $10, $20 or more on it, then they are not $1 a week gamblers any longer. Gambling always means losing money. Usually losing more money than intended. The bottom line is that losing money and feeling all of these negative emotions is not fun, recreational or entertaining.
Every so-called moderate gambler has a gambling problem. Suppose that you are considered to be a moderate gambler. A moderate gambler will occasionally lose for example $5 at a time. So the gambling industry basically "grabs" $5 at a time from you. You would remember this for a lifetime if a thief grabbed a $5 bill out of your hand and ran away with it. What about a gambling industry "thief" who grabs $5 each time from you for a super jackpot lottery drawing? The odds are that you will never hit a super jackpot even if living many thousands of lifetimes. How about grabbing $5 a race at the horse racetrack? How about grabbing $5 a hand at blackjack? How about grabbing $5 for a few slot machine pulls? How about grabbing $5 per stock trade? How about grabbing $5 from you at other gambling activities? That occasional $5 multiplied by countless occasional times, adds up to a lot of money over the months and years. Anyone who is grabbing your money like this is a problem that must be eliminated. But the gambling industry does not want you to think this way. The gambling industry wants you to think that each occasional $5 lost gambling is fun, recreational and entertaining. The gambling industry spends millions of dollars on advertising and public relations to keep their so-called moderate gambling customers foolish and ignorant about gambling.
Too many people expect that they should know everything. Why? It's amazing that people live in states where anonymity is not even optional (like Rhode Island where I live). Having other people decide for you how much privacy you give up is stupid and intrusive and more than mildly offensive.
Well Thrifty, its like this......If you earn your money and its spent on power bills and cable and the newspaper, lottery, cigarettes, alcohol..who really cares ? I don't care if you want to do that..its none of my concern. If you want an extra $5 spent on something, its your choice, if its forced upon you and you have to pay, then its no longer your choice(like the price of gas and food lately)....do those items give me the possibility of returning money or possible retirement ??? Not at all...But the choice remains with the person with the money....Its mine and I will spend it as I see fit.... I don't tell anybody else on how to spend their money or how they should feel....IMHO neither should anyone else...but then again..that's the wonderful part about this country...Freedom of choice/speech and the right remain silent.
" ... gambling at the very least correlates with feelings such as irritation, frustration and aggravation then can worsen to agony, depression, violence ..."
So does Friday rush-hour traffic.
lolol......lololol.....Good one Time*
Can you stop playing the lottery for 1 year?
How about spending your annual lottery budget once a year in one drawing?
Do you have an annual lottery budget?
Looks like the KS winner was an own pick. When I win, I won't claim my jackpot anonymously because I can't. Staying anonymous is only good if you don't know how to say no to charities and people, are old, or plan to continue living in current residence. I wouldn't fall into any of those categories, so you can look forward to seeing my smiling face!
When I win and before I make my move to warmer climate, destination unknown to all solicitors, any piece of mail I see addressed "Jackpot Lottery Winner" or Powerball/Mega Millions Jackpot Winner" will immediately find its way into my recycling bin. Basically, what I am saying is that all solicitors and beggars will be wasting money on postage to contact me, and those attempts will be futile. This is the rule of thumb I would apply: if you have never loaned me any money in the past, don't bother asking me to give you any money when I win big money! Kapisch?!
Not a "smart move" for all of those who lost and question the integrity and legitimacy of the lottery. How do we know a real person actually received anything? I would think that lottery would care more about the billions of losers and people who made the jackpot what it was than they do about the one winner(s) security. Many do not believe they are legit if no actual winner is posted, and think that the larger jackpot games are scams and fixed. I would not doubt it either. Plus is BS that some states allow it and others don't. Make the playing field level or many will not even play at all.
But SirB. just having someone's smiling mug in a shot with a gigantor-sized check will not guarentee that the lottery is legit either. It could be someone who was paid 50$ and given a hot meal.