An unemployed father from Norwood, New York, won $5 million from a lottery scratch off ticket he bought April 24 — and he wants to keep the details of his windfall quiet.
But the New York State Lottery requires winners of $1 million and more to participate in a press conference where they receive a giant ceremonial check for their winnings. That obligation is written on the back of each ducat.
Now, the Bronx man plans to sue the state's Gaming Commission, arguing he should be allowed to remain anonymous due to safety concerns.
He's worried that his friends and family members will aggressively try to get some of the bonanza for themselves, his lawyer said.
"It's like a Frank Capra movie. Hopefully it doesn't become a John Carpenter film," said his lawyer, Andrew Plasse.
His client bought the $20 ticket at his local liquor store. He realized he had a winning "$5 Million Fortune" ticket as he sat scratching the numbers off while on the toilet in his home.
The anonymous winner plans to use the money to buy a house and pay for expenses tied to his 4-year-old daughter.
As for the legal case, Plasse intends to file it in the next few days in Bronx Supreme Court, asking the state to make an exemption for his clients and others in a similar situation.
"He's been living in the neighborhood his whole life," he said. "People are going to come out of the wood work. Nobody wants that."
The case is not without precedent.
In March, a judge ruled that a New Hampshire woman who won a Powerball kitty of close to $560 million was allowed to remain anonymous.
Still, the legal case in New York is facing an uphill battle, according to one attorney who represents lottery winners throughout the country.
"I think it is a heavy lift," said lottery lawyer Jason Kurland. "But sometimes the lottery commission will work with you. If they determine his life is in jeopardy they have the flexibility to revise their regulations. But it is very difficult."
Exciting news! The New Hampshire case, with a different fact pattern, started it all.
waste of time. he won't win the case. now even more people are going to find out about his good fortune. he should have cashed it in on a friday afternoon and it would have been forgotten by most by monday. why play if you are worried about that nonsense. not enough of a hit anyway to bring out the vultures. just move somewhere else if he is so worried. we should all have this alleged problem.
Back on March 12th of this year DELotteryPlyr said," Pandora's box has been opened - watch who sues next to get the state to change the rules after the fact".
His point was made under the article where the Judge ruled that the $560 Million Powerball winner could remain anonymous.
Not even 90 days... Nice call DELotteryPlyr
Lol Several lp members said the same thing about the NH case. I am grateful for lives that may be saved in these cases.
It would never happen but the surest way to get states that don't allow winners to remain anonymous would be a boycott..........
No anonymous winners, no ticket sales.
Thanks, this one should be interesting to see what happens. I say NO he should not be allowed to be anonymous. The rules at the time he played were - he HAD to give his name. IF him or anyone else does not want their name given - DONT PLAY THE GAME. Wait for your state to change to allowing you to be anonymous.
Todd,
There's already a follow-up to this story from the NY lottery on the NY Post website. They seem to want to hold their ground.
Next thing you know there will be a disclaimer printed on the back of all lottery tickets in non-anonymous states saying basically you agree to our terms or nt moola.
OK so in the end the lawyer will make 5 million and the "winner" will receive nothing. Problem solved.
Listen I bought the Post today ‘cause of this story. Right on the cover the guy is with his face blurred out. If he was really so concerned about anonymity, he wouldn’t have had his picture, albeit with his face blurred, but still if people know him and where he’s from...come on how many guesses would it take. It talks about his family the fact that he has one kid and that he used to work in a Little Caesar’s Pizza, shout out to the owner of Little Caesar’s for helping Rosa Park’s out so many years ago BTW R.I.P., I mean seriously by now I’m sure people know it’s him. But Yes, NY it is almost impossible to remain anonymous on any win over $1,000,000. It says it right on the back of the tickets.
Lol ain’t that the truth.
"That obligation is written on the back of each ducat." A different name for a lottery ticket.
I hope that the winner wins in Court. Why endanger a man and his family?
Easy solution, hire a financial advisor. Create a trust. Claim the ticket in the name of the trust. Attend the press conference,wearing a ski mask and sunglasses. Answer the questions with a yes or a no. Then leave
I agree with Lottery Lawyer Jason Kurland. "But sometimes the lottery commission will work with you. If they determine his life is in jeopardy they have the flexibility to revise their regulations."
Yolanda Vega, New York Lottery personality, wants to proclaim loudly this winner.
They could answer the press conference like the NFL running back Marshawn Lynch did with a resounding "yeah, thanks for asking".
I just realized a possible solution to this whole anonymity problem which could possibly satisfy both sides. Every winner in states that prohibit anonymity, should file a law suit. This way, everyone knows a REAL person is claiming the JP...You may be asking how will everyone know?...Easy...If they are filing a claim, and if the party can prove they are the owner of the winning ticket to a judge and other reputable eyewitness, then that judge and others can make a public statement verifying the validity of the claim. Think about it..the whole point of the lottery officials is to prove a REAL winner won. If an individual/s is willing to go to that level of protest, then that's proof enough for me.
If anyone can poke holes into this theory, please give it a shot. I certainly don't know everything there is to know...lol
(Lots of people claim to know everything...lol)
Good idea, especially for the states that can't justify why identifying winners is necessary. Hard to believe in a state with the population of New York, it's news when somebody wins $5 million.
Let me ask you this. What would you do?
I will be honest and I have seen this in the papers here in Philadelphia. Everything today is out in the open. Whether he wins a case or not, the point is this. He needs to cover his ass and find a solution.
You said a SKI-MASK? LOL
i don't know. but this sound
a bit funny. hilarious actually.
good 1 tonight tony numbers. lol
i would create a trust, but allowing my area, and all over to know my state/city/zip and or first initial C- with my last name private.
At least then people know some 1 has won right in there neighborhood. Congrats either way to this person.
LOL yeah best believe if I win Im wearing some type of mask and gloves set to hide my face and skin. In Virginia you cant claim using a trust/LLC and you have to do the press conference. All my answers will be "I'm still thinking things over". About the post I hope the guy wins of course.
What l am still trying to figure out is, why did Plasse have to tell the general public,that he's client was taking a dump when he realised that he had won $5 million? Did we really have to know that, does this attorney have no shame?
He's not a tree--he can move far away from the neighborhood and not be bothered.
Congrats on the win.
billybucks, Clearly you have NEVER been to the BRONX ! Even police officers who work there, admit they hate going there !
Would love for billybucks just to walk in the Bronx, anytime day or night.......
billybucks, you deserve to take your last vacation there...
clearly you have NO IDEA what you are talking aboout, so PLEASE get your a$$ there as soon so possible,
I am sure you will be treated the way you deserve :) billybucks
what possible reason would he have to stay living in the bronx. i've been there many times. bad, but survivable. wouldn't want to live there though and neither should he now. he has put this whole thing out in the open now. he should have not said anything, cashed it and moved to some hamlet upstate. replace your relatives and former friends with new friends. give all of them 100.00 and tell them to leave me alone. not that difficult to shun people if you really want to. sure, a few of them may hound him a couple of times but would stop after being rebuffed. if he actually fears for his safety then he definitely should move and not give out his address.
I still like to go up to the Ferragosto Festival. Arthur Avenue is real nice place. I used to live around there years ago.
This is where the lawyer, financial advisor planner come into play. The lawyer could be a represented person in this. I wouldn't even put out there whereabouts of anything.
This is honestly a lesson learned from the lottery winner. Consult with a lawyer on what to do and then go from there.
Maybe hire a stripper and pay the stripper and then whatever and then go from there.
Hiring a stripper would be the worst thing to do. I mean have you not seen the crazy things they do for money.
The stripper doesn't have to know anything. The guy should have done a different gameplan.
Yes, have a poor stripper claim the money (who may be stripping to support children) and further marginalize her in society. Hiring someone to falsely claim they purchased the ticket and won, is a crime. Be sure to lie to her as well and commit another crime.
I actually liked the honesty and hilarity of how the winner discovered his win. It was true to life.
Do you know how overloaded the court system is and the likely wait of perhaps years? Judges do not serve the role of validating lottery claims unless there are laws and regulations, etc. in dispute. This sounds like an admin function that a specialized clerk could perhaps perform . And judges do not make public statements on cases. Having a judge waste time on writing an opinion for this where there is no real dispute, would not fly.
File a lawsuit for what!!!! Have you ever won that much money? This is what the lottery winner could have done. The person could have gone to seek help from the lawyer first into seeing what the person could have done.
She can state her personal opinion and there is no pre-requirement that she has won a lottery. Lol. Have you ever won that much money??? No. You just copied what I said on the law.
Oh where oh where is justxploring. These discussions always bring to mind a post she made about someone suing to remain anonymous, winning the case, and thus becoming famous for winning their right to remain anonymous!
Could this guy be trying to avoid child support increase? Article didn't say he was married--but he has a 4 yr old.
Or he has lots of unpaid debts.
Hire the NH lawyer and have him argue it for the winner...
It’s true that all New York lottery tickets come with fine print warning players of their obligation to make themselves known to claim any prize of $1 million or more. Yet in other instances, state and local governments have protected people from predatory fine print. The lottery can hardly expect that the people who line up in convenience stores to buy their tickets are going to consult an attorney over the contractual agreement they’re entering into before forking over a few bucks.
The lottery counts on its winners to behave as many of its losers do: in a financially unsound way. Without winners willing to trumpet the fact that they’re now millionaires, the games lose a key tool in gaining new customers or in encouraging existing customers to spend more. There’s something wrong, though, about forcing a man trying to hold onto his windfall to forego a tool that the wealthy regularly use to protect themselves from importuning friends and neighbors. A tale of two cities, indeed.
https://www.city-journal.org/html/big-reveal-15931.html
Actually, as an avid player in NYC, I only play ready cash games that I can cash at the store but mega and powerball, I have no problem taking a quick drive to Delaware or Maryland where anonimity is allowed. If I should ever win, I am covered. It is unfortunate that NY state is so far behind in protecting the identity of winners.