my curiosity is always where the ticket was purchased and how old the person is.   Other than that IDC.

Todd/Kate----waiting for your listing of the $700 Powerball drawing tonight.   Always enjoy those articles secondary to feel good stories!

So the state lottery is only releasing the trust name and not the name of the winner? If so, we need to add that option to the state anonymity list. Wins over 250k that are claimed via a trust will not have the winner's name released (unless there is a public records request?)

According to online public records,

https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=EntityName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=SALTINES%20L230005398370&aggregateId=flal-l23000539837-4ee54e73-628d-43c3-ba93-14251a13c78e&searchTerm=Saltines%20LLC&listNameOrder=SALTINES%20L230005398370

it looks to be ALBERTO  GUGLIELMI

Glad they got their money. LLCs provide some level of privacy. Hopefully they've gotten out of town before anyone figures out who they are!

Powerball is starting to get up there at $700million. Maybe there will be a big winner New Year's Day.

Won in Neptune Beach but claimed by a LLC in Miami? If that ain't suspicious. One week before the cash deadline. Would the trustee be Eddie Lipton by chance? Should be required to do a press conference like other states for transparency.

Congrats!

Congrats to the winner(s) whoever he/she/they are.

I have it on bad authority that the winner is a hot dog afficienado . ... I betcha the winner will splurge and buy grey poupon mustard from now on.

I also hear the winner/s love pierogi with bratwurst every 2nd Thursday of each month.

Hmmm might the winner be of polish descent?

And I hear they feed there dog Alpo ...... I betcha Fido will be served filet mignon or porterhouse from now on.

And the winner is bald but tame and friendly thank goodness.

Interesting.  The registered agent may or may not be the actual winner. If Florida allows one to designate anyone as a registered agent, then 100% anonymity would be possible for wins over a certain amount.

Not necessarily. I looked up the address in Miami and it's an office suite that has mail forwarding services. Google the address and you will see what I mean.

I think he's trying to obscure his location to keep away the opportunists. He could be anywhere in the world by now.

In Louisiana, if an entity is used to claim a prize all those eligible must be on the paperwork as members. Using a LLC gives a layer of privacy, but isn't totally private.

Hey, does Louisiana cut separate checks for group members?   CA, IN and KY do but don't know about other states.

I wish I could remember where I very recently read this, but unfortunately I cant.

What I read was a news report that stated the winner used an LLC registered in Delaware, not Florida.  The reason given for registering in Delaware was stated as "Delaware will not release the names of members of an LLC registered in Delaware, but Florida will release the names."....

So what the LLC in Miami is all about I do not know. 

I do recall that it was a Florida TV station's website where the above was reported, but I've no idea which one it was. I'm going to do some Googling to try to find the news article.  G5

Here's different link to a satellite TV station (KIRO 7 in Seattle) that's provides good info about what actually happened.

https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/llc-revealed-winner-record-setting-16b-mega-millions-jackpot/MBRKNXDMLZES5KJVZXTL6DA3D4/

G5

This is fascinating and big news in terms of using an LLC (in states where it is an option).

So the privacy aspect of the Delaware incorporated LCC superceded the public records aspect of the Florida lottery law. This makes sense since I doubt Florida would challenge this since the majority of businesses in the state are likely incorporated under Delaware law.

I double checked Delaware LLC law and it does not require at any point; even in annual reports and filings, for the true owner to ever be identified.

So this lottery winner has 110% anonymity.  I suspect that the guy listed in that business office space is just an employee of the hired financial management company.

I also read that employees of a Jacksonville Florida TV station saw a report that appears on the Florida Lottery's website that actually contained the winners name. (I too saw that report as did MsBee18 but it was quickly taken down).  Reporters from the TV station tracked the guy down but he refused to speak with them. 

https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/duval-county/winner-mega-millions-jackpot-ticket-worth-158-billion-sold-neptune-beach-publix-is-local/FFVWFRFZKRCHJEH6CDEXFDGE3A/

I Googled the guys name and found the name of a doctor located at a hospital in Jacksonville which is near Neptune Beach. Whether or not that Doctor was the actual winner is as the media says "remains unclear at this time".  G5

Sounds like the Florida lottery may be in big trouble for publishing his name. Another interesting issue in terms of a lottery releasing a winner's name when they were not supposed to do so. Why else would they have removed the name otherwise?

A few months ago I saw the guys name listed on The Jackpot Winners and Retailer Information Report which is available on The Florida Lottery's website.  I was absolutely shocked that his name was there.  The next day the report was still there but the guy's name had been deleted and it read "Exempt per FS 1024" 

I had already Googled him the day I saw his name.  Apparently the TV station Reporters had seen the same report that I had and Googled him as well.

I don't remember the guys name, and even if I did, I would never put it out here.  But I think you're right, if The Florida Lottery did actually screw up and accidentally put his name out there (even if it was for a short period of time) they could be in very deep doo-doo!  G5

Should I ever win big and can claim anonymously, I am adding to my checklist the following: I need the name of the lottery official who is responsible for maintaining my anonymity.  And I would tell the lottery official, you think I won big now, guess how much money I will be seeking if you breach your anonymity guarantee. Lol

If a news org somehow got the actual identity of the winner then the winner didn't do this right. Ever since the entity law went into place, many FL jackpot winners have claimed a lottery anonymously. 

The only visible names required for a FL LLC are the registered agent and authorized personnel. 

They can be the same person/entity, usually a lawyer. Most winners who do this seem to use Kurt Panouses. 

The actual owner of the LLC is the winner whose name will appear on the LLC's operating agreement which is legally protected and not available publicly 

Once the lottery is claimed and funds disbursed, the LLC can be dissolved and the owners anonymity remains intact.

The other way to claim without a lawyer is by what's called the FL Double LLC. Basically one LLC owns the other LLC. Most people use 2 FL LLCs, hence the name.

Best way to do this, I believe, is: Get an LLC in Wyoming or Delaware. Use that LLC to create and incorporate a FL LLC. Use the FL LLC to claim the jackpot and there's the 100% anonymity with 100% control. 

Me, I plan to do a combo of the two. Delaware LLC incorporating the FL LLC with a lawyer as the RA (and possibly AP) for the FL LLC. There'd literally be no way to find my identity without a great deal of expense, time, hassle and a court order in 2 jurisdictions. Good luck. It's also the way I'll own property. I'll gladly give up tax exemption for privacy. Especially since FL tax exemption has very pronounced limitations

"What I read was a news report that stated the winner used an LLC registered in Delaware, not Florida. "

What a rabbit hole this is. LLCs named Saltines and Saltines Holdings were both registered in DE, a few days apart in late September. Both were registered through Corporation Service Company rather than Northwest Registered Agent, as for the FL LLC. Both companies seem to cater to the DIY crowd, so maybe there isn't an actual lawyer representing the winner.  Also, there's at least one more Saltines LLC.

"it looks to be ALBERTO  GUGLIELMI "

Home run or swing and a miss? As it turns out, Alberto seems to live in my general neck of the woods. He doesn't own the property at the address listed, but is currently registered as the owner of a modest property nearby.

It could be that he's been used as the registered agent twice, and the person pulling the strings makes a habit of using similar names each time they find somebody to play RA. Of course that begs the question of how the guy  who's RA for an LLC formed 4 years ago in NY ends up being the RA for an LLC formed a few weeks ago in FL. Maybe somebody has a card with his name in their Rolodex.  As long as the mail gets forwarded properly paying some random  guy to be the RA that doesn't actually know anything could make sense when claiming a fat lottery prize, but that brings us back to the 4 year old NY company and why it would have used the same random guy.

Perhaps the more plausible explanation is that Alberto took a vacation to Neptune Beach, bought a lottery ticket, got lucky, and then wasn't smart enough to come up with a new LLC name or find good advisors.

Just for fun, check out this listing for the DE Saltines Holdings and scroll down to the question. Then you can see the handsome face of this optimistic guy.

Whether he's the winner or not, I hope Alberto doesn't end up with people banging down his door to say hello.

There is nothing suspicious about winning a prize in one part of a state and claiming it in another part of the state. Waiting is also not suspicious because they wanted to make sure they had everything in order. In most states one's name has to match identically on both the ID and social security card when claiming a prize at lottery headquarters. A lot of people don't realize this until they get to headquarters and have to file paperwork for new ID's and social security cards with matching names, doing this takes time. This has NOTHING to do with Eddie TIPTON because HE just got out of prison in 2022 and he was involved in Hot Lotto fraud in 2015 that was not in Florida. He had nothing to do with Mega Millions or Powerball. A lot of people cry conspiracy when THEY have yet to win the lottery jackpot or do not even play the lottery..LOL!

This is how DIYers tend to trip themselves when forming the LLC. They will either make their names and/or address visible.

This one knew enough to get a DE LLC but not enough to not use a service as the RA for the FL LLC.

Correction, they did know enough to use a service as the RA. The guy is actually an AMBR which IMO is worse. Why not just get a lawyer to be an AP, because an AP can file docs with the state and not be an actual member of the LLC. 

We do not know if he is the winner, but in listing him as an AMBR, we know that he is a member of the LLC which owns these funds and therefore one can assume he has strong ties to the winner. He's a loose thread which didn't have to be there.

I'm not comprehending your thinking in claiming that anything that was done was suspicious.

Would you prefer for a single winner of $1.6 billion just point the press and public to himself?

Would you prefer that he just claim those funds immediately without taking time to:

1. Wait for the furor to die down
2. Get tax, legal and financial advice
3. Make all the necessary banking, living, security & communication arrangements 
4. Have a will prepared in the event he dies prior to claiming

Seems to me that every lottery curse story stems from people who think the way you do. Who think that running in front of a microphone and camera with zero thought as to the consequences is somehow a good thing. As if taking time to do ones homework is problematic. 

This is puerile and selfish thinking

If "crawled out of the woodwork" had a face. LOL

As for me, I'm leaning towards the actual winner being the doctor in Jacksonville.

How did his name appear on The Jackpot Winners and Retailer Information Report that the Florida Lottery puts out on their website?  Because the Florida Lottery screwed up and accidentally put it on their report.  Where did The Florida Lottery get the doctor's name and address?  From the doctor himself because he claimed the ticket.

And then the Jacksonville TV station reporters that saw the same report that I saw on The Fla Lottery website tracked him down and knocked on his front door.  He answered the door but refused to talk to them.  He didn't even bother to deny it was him or say something like "You must be mistaken. I've never won the lottery."  He simply shut the door in their face.

How else or why else could his name possibly get on that report?  G5

I checked an Louisiana does not.

I am not sure who the winner may be. The name that was removed could have been a prior winner. You know how when one is typing and a similar name will pop up?

If all that is true then I agree. The simplest explanation is that the lottery mistakenly released the name.

LOL at the mug shot guy who posted his info asking for a million dollars.

The Saltines LLC/Saltines Holdings LLC rats nest is probably there to obscure the FL doctor winner.

I agree.  The Jacksonville doctor is my scientific wild guess.

I worked in data processing for over 30 years and I saw output produced from software programs that I never expected. Most times it was a bug in the code that produced erroneous results.  The Florida Lottery software that creates the report could have malfunctioned, or somebody at the Florida Lottery made an honest mistake and entered the doctors name even if he wasn't the actual winner.  No telling what happened.  G5

"The Saltines LLC/Saltines Holdings LLC rats nest is probably there to obscure the FL doctor winner. "

Maybe, maybe not. I hadn't looked before, but the official announcement by the FL Lottery says the prize was claimed by Saltines Holdings LLC. This article says they're "based in Miami" but according to Florida's official corporate registry there's not a Saltines Holdings (LLC or any other corporate structure) anywhere in Florida. The listing you linked to is for Saltines LLC , which lists a Miami address for an authorize member.  I missed it in my previous post, but Saltines LLC was registered on 12/5/23, almost 10 weeks after the winner stepped forward to claim the prize. Call me crazy, but it seems unlikely that an LLC registered on 12/5 could have claimed a prize back in September. The only rational conclusion is that the lottery listed the correct name of the winner and it is Saltine Holdings LLC and has no known connection to Miami. As far as I can tell there's only one Saltines Holdings in the US, and it was registered in DE on 9/7, about 3 weeks before the prize was claimed.

The only connection between the winner and (any of the 3) Saltines LLC is the similarity of the names and a Saltines LLC being registered in DE using the same registered agent and only 1 week before the Saltines Holdings LLC  was registered. The latter seems like a rather unlikely coincidence. The two Saltines LLC connected to Alberto Guglielmi have only the more tenuous connection of a similar name.

"The Jacksonville doctor is my scientific wild guess. "

The article you linked to also said "the entity that claimed the ticket was based in Miami " but it looks like that's not the case. That makes me think that listing information about some entity that wasn't the winner of this particular prize is a more likely explanation.

But how and where could a person or computer have gotten the name of this alleged ticketholder from when no claiming document would actually have his name? 

The winner is the LLC. The entity claiming the win is the LLC. Nowhere on the incorporating documentation does the doctor's name even appear, so where would his name have been showing for someone (or a computer) to even accidentally out him? It doesn't make sense.

He's not the RA, AP or AMBR. For all intents and purposes, he's not the winner. Saltines LLC is the winner.

A person took the time to do a double LLC with the parent LLC incorporated in a state with the strictest LLC privacy laws in the nation, and then what? He signed his name on the back of the ticket for a lottery pencil pusher to reveal? Is that even remotely likely? 

Considering the lengths the ticket holder went through to keep his identity hidden, I don't think he did anything to out himself unless he's the stupidest smart person on the planet. 

I think the doctor's name got transposed from another document from something else & erroneously linked to this lottery win. Because otherwise, he'd have to be the dumbest smart person alive. And I just don't see it.

"but according to Florida's official corporate registry there's not a Saltines Holdings (LLC or any other corporate structure) anywhere in Florida"

The Florida Division of Corporations website (Sunbiz.org) shows this info,

Detail by Entity Name

St Pete is on Florida's west coast (Miami is on the east coast)  St Pete is in my neck of the woods, so I did a Google Maps street view of that address.  It's a nondescript office building of which St Pete has many.  Makes it all the more confusing to me. G5 

I agree. I think the names were transposed.  Maybe the name of the doctor was in the database already for a win over $600.

Exactly my thoughts. 
If the doctor had a winning ticket of more than $600 that he must redeem at a Florida Lottery office prior to September, then his name and address was saved in The Florida Lottery's database.  When The Jackpot Winners and Retailer Information Report was created in September, it's very plausible that his name was placed on the report either by a software program error or it was manually put on the report in error by someone that works at The Fla Lottery.  G5

Of course, the above is all conjecture/speculation on my part.  I have absolutely no idea of  what actually happened.

One thing is for sure though, and that's that the Jacksonville doctor somehow became known to The Florida Lottery.  The only way they could have gotten his name and address is if he gave it to them.

Another thing that I've thought about is this - I would think that most doctors aren't inclined to buy lottery tickets.  Of course the Jacksonville doctor could be an exception to that... So who knows what happened??? 

Net of it all that the doctor might not be the actual winner, but then maybe he was. That's a mystery we can all speculate about here, but we'll never get to the bottom of it.  G5

You might be surprised at the very high income people who play the lottery. Likely not in a regular manner but when it moves into top 10 territory and it is heavily publicized, many buy a ticket. It becomes a sport or competition at that point.

True enough that wealthy people play the lottery too.  I have a relative that drove a delivery truck to deli's and convenience stores. One particular deli was located in an affluent/upscale town located 20 miles north of New York City. He got to know the owner of the deli quite well. My relative saw quite a few signs in the deli announcing some pretty good winning tickets sold at that deli so he asked the owner about it. The owner said "It's all those rich so and so's coming in here and buying boatloads of tickets!  You wouldn't believe how much they spend on tickets!" G5

"The Florida Division of Corporations website (Sunbiz.org) shows this info, "

Just to be clear, you do know that the company listed is not called Saltines Holdings, right?

Hi everyone! A little late to the conversation here, but I wanted to clarify the wording "based in Miami" in the article. The jackpot winner records initially released to the public by the Florida Lottery had Miami, Florida as the city associated with the claimant, Saltines Holdings, LLC, but it did not clarify whether that meant the LLC was incorporated in Miami. We have seen other outlets piece together some information and say that the LLC was incorporated in Delaware, as well as the possibility that the winner is a doctor in Florida, but we are currently working on confirming some facts with the Florida Lottery before putting anything in writing on our end.