Remember that woman who recently collected her money who wore a disguise? I mean, really, it was still pretty obvious who it was. As for those of you saying you'd tip your hairdresser big to do your hair...um, she still knows who you are and may not hold it "close to the vest".
I liked this question because, face it, we all would LOVE to do a news conference. Show the world who we are, tell certain peopel to "stick it", etc. Just like how everyone has pretended at one time or another, to be on "JayLeno/Johnny Carson" and chatting. [Does anyone remember when the first big winner of over $100 million Powerball was on David Letterman? She was in college and pregnant and wore a stunning black dress. I've always wondered what has happened to her since...maybe it was 1991?]
But at the same time, we are all realists. What you could get out of doing a news conference is very little compared to the h*ll you will get from it.
If I HAD to do a news conference, I would do like the woman I mentioned above, except, well, do a better job. Wear a wig or dye my hair the opposite of what it really is. Wear foundation that is completely not my skin tone. Wear big, ugly glasses that truly cover the color of my eyes. Pretend to have an accent, when I really don't. Have on clothes that are completely not my type. And last, but not least, try not to smile. That's right. Personally, I've always thought that people that won a big jackpot and not smile about it are lame in the brain. However, if I smiled at the camera, most people would know it was me.
Yet, I'm pretty sure NC doesn't require a news conference. And I'm pretty sure that you can say "No, thank you" when they ask to take a picture. But they DO print your name and town in the paper and internet, and Kidzmom is absolutely correct - you can find anyone you want in the tax database in NC. So you have to do a trust or something along those lines, to remain anonymous in NC.
Which is why I'm happy that I bought so many Megamillion tickets in Virginia because they allow anonymous winners (I think).
But a related quick question... if you don't live in the state where you won the jackpot, they can't give your name or address unless you allow them, correct? Because you are out of state, right?