There is no reason Mega Millions and Powerball can't allow jackpot winners to remain anoymousPrev Topic Next Topic

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JWBlue

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Aug 27, 2009, 10:56 pm

When I watch these lottery television shows about jackpot winners who are harrassed by people for money, it irks me because it can be prevented.

There are other ways to verify a jackpot has been paid out. California allows jackpot winners to remain anonymous (not sure about Mega Millions, but they do with Super Lotto Plus)

They could hire an autitor to verify a winner has been paid. They already hire an auditor to verify the drawings are fair.

It really is absurd.
Pinkpansies

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Aug 28, 2009, 2:06 am

What they really want is a good story to help them sell more tickets, i.e. make even more money, the next time around. For the lottery it is all about the money. You should try looking carefully at your lottery's rules though, I think there can be a way around the anonymous thing even if they say there isn't. I've read my states laws and it states that if a company claims a lottery prize, then all of the officer's for the company (ex. President, Vice-President, etc.) have to submit their social security numbers. They probably do this thinking that you would put yourself as the president or on the board or something. The solution is simple, make your lawyer the one and only company officer and have it set up to funnel the money into trusts.

The only thing you have to make sure of is that your lawyer doesn't have any government debt or child support owing so the lottery won't feel obligated to hold some of your winnings. Later you can disband the company and just keep the trusts or switch it around. That's why if I ever win a jackpot I'm going to get a good lawyer and have them go over everything with a fine tooth comb.

The best thing to remember is that you are the only one who can give away your freedom, don't believe anything they tell you blindly, find any loophole you can and smile as you make your way anonymously to the bank to withdraw some of your money.
KY Floyd

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Aug 28, 2009, 2:06 am

Of course there's a good reason to require people to be identified publicly. They aren't trying to convince an auditor that real people win the lottery, they're trying to convince the public. How many people here don't trust computerized drawings despite all the effort the states put into claiming they're fair and truly random? If people don't believe that, why would they believe it when the state claims that the lottery was won, and the prize was paid, to some unidentified person that nobody will ever know about?

Requiring winners to be named, or to appear at a press conference (they can't make you "hold" a press conference or actually say anything) is just plain good sense from a marketing standpoint. If you ever actually win you may not want to attend the press conference, but there's a really simple way around that. If the hardship of attending a press conference isn't worth the prize, don't play, or give your winning ticket to somebody who doesn't mind going.
joshuacloak

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Aug 28, 2009, 2:30 am

KY i see your point, however i tend to disagree with don't play then

allow us the freedom to have player ran lotto,

you can have your govt ran lotto, and it being all public and open

however not allowing us to play our own lotto

you may as will point a gun via govt monopoly at us, saying the only ones allowed to have massive lotto is if the state runs it,

if i was given the option of a other Massive lotto to play, in my area, thats not govt ran, and would repect my wish for being anoymous, i would play for it

you think sense their a lack of choice, we have to go along with the only choice or not play

i would love nonething more then compition for the state lottos, i would glady vote with my wallet

but god forbid i had a choice, then the govt would not make so much money,

i disagree even more so, when the govt is taxing the lotto winnings, their no need for the public to know if their a REAL WINNER, as the govt is already the WINNER,

i mean take massive mm jackpot, if won in New Jersey, the total tax, atfer 35% fed top cap, and over 10% state tax rate , thats around 45+ % tax rate, and just wait to OB turns that up, we be having near / over 50% tax on lotto winnings

if the people in dc have any say about it!

you don't need to convince me their a real winner in govt ran lotto's ,i already trust the lotto createing real winners

their is one, the govt, they should be happy their rasing so much money for them selfs in tax's

their no good reason in my mind, i think for the govt to force people to be identified publicly,

i have seen the recent lotto shows, on tlc, and ALL the major winners, am taking many millions, who won a massive pb or mm jackpot, has stated how the PUBLIC has bugged them countless

you can't blame them for wanting to win millions, if you wish to pull the don't play card

then ALLOW US the freedom of choice to play whatever we want,

my point, don't ever pull the don't play card, when you don't have freedom of choice to play a other lotto

mark my words, the govt monopoly of lotto would fail if we was allowed to vote with our wallets, and play whatever lotto by whoever we wanted, we have better odds, and god forbid anoymous

am sorry , but the public has no right to ask me for money, but thats what they do to major public lotto winners

lotto is a bet, they didn't bet and they don't deserve to know who i am, so they can bug me atfer

lucky, we right now do have a option, and a choice to remain anoymous

get a great tax laywer, or whatever and have them claim it, it has been happening lately , a recent one being a major pb jackpt D.C winner, a lawyer claimed it for him, via trust, and had a ton of mini trusts to spit that up even more, i think one was for hes famiyl health care related fund, and a other for school,

i mean like it or not, i plan on playing, and remaining anoymous, i don't care if the lotto or however many people want to know who i am, for the sake of knowing if a real person won,

give me the option to play something else,then i wont PLAY your govt ran monopoly lotto

allow competition, and we won't need to debate this, we have a option

long live choice
truecritic

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Aug 28, 2009, 3:55 am

Quote: Originally posted by joshuacloak on Aug 28, 2009
KY i see your point, however i tend to disagree with don't play then

allow us the freedom to have player ran lotto,

you can have your govt ran lotto, and it being all public and open

however not allowing us to play our own lotto

you may as will point a gun via govt monopoly at us, saying the only ones allowed to have massive lotto is if the state runs it,

if i was given the option of a other Massive lotto to play, in my area, thats not govt ran, and would repect my wish for being anoymous, i would play for it

you think sense their a lack of choice, we have to go along with the only choice or not play

i would love nonething more then compition for the state lottos, i would glady vote with my wallet

but god forbid i had a choice, then the govt would not make so much money,

i disagree even more so, when the govt is taxing the lotto winnings, their no need for the public to know if their a REAL WINNER, as the govt is already the WINNER,

i mean take massive mm jackpot, if won in New Jersey, the total tax, atfer 35% fed top cap, and over 10% state tax rate , thats around 45+ % tax rate, and just wait to OB turns that up, we be having near / over 50% tax on lotto winnings

if the people in dc have any say about it!

you don't need to convince me their a real winner in govt ran lotto's ,i already trust the lotto createing real winners

their is one, the govt, they should be happy their rasing so much money for them selfs in tax's

their no good reason in my mind, i think for the govt to force people to be identified publicly,

i have seen the recent lotto shows, on tlc, and ALL the major winners, am taking many millions, who won a massive pb or mm jackpot, has stated how the PUBLIC has bugged them countless

you can't blame them for wanting to win millions, if you wish to pull the don't play card

then ALLOW US the freedom of choice to play whatever we want,

my point, don't ever pull the don't play card, when you don't have freedom of choice to play a other lotto

mark my words, the govt monopoly of lotto would fail if we was allowed to vote with our wallets, and play whatever lotto by whoever we wanted, we have better odds, and god forbid anoymous

am sorry , but the public has no right to ask me for money, but thats what they do to major public lotto winners

lotto is a bet, they didn't bet and they don't deserve to know who i am, so they can bug me atfer

lucky, we right now do have a option, and a choice to remain anoymous

get a great tax laywer, or whatever and have them claim it, it has been happening lately , a recent one being a major pb jackpt D.C winner, a lawyer claimed it for him, via trust, and had a ton of mini trusts to spit that up even more, i think one was for hes famiyl health care related fund, and a other for school,

i mean like it or not, i plan on playing, and remaining anoymous, i don't care if the lotto or however many people want to know who i am, for the sake of knowing if a real person won,

give me the option to play something else,then i wont PLAY your govt ran monopoly lotto

allow competition, and we won't need to debate this, we have a option

long live choice

"you may as will point a gun via govt monopoly at us, saying the only ones allowed to have massive lotto is if the state runs it,

if i was given the option of a other Massive lotto to play, in my area, thats not govt ran, and would repect my wish for being anoymous, i would play for it"

What in the world are you saying? I just pulled a couple things out of your post that totally do not make any sense.

Have you ever heard of spell-check? It would help immensely.
JWBlue

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Aug 28, 2009, 3:16 pm

Quote: Originally posted by KY Floyd on Aug 28, 2009
Of course there's a good reason to require people to be identified publicly. They aren't trying to convince an auditor that real people win the lottery, they're trying to convince the public. How many people here don't trust computerized drawings despite all the effort the states put into claiming they're fair and truly random? If people don't believe that, why would they believe it when the state claims that the lottery was won, and the prize was paid, to some unidentified person that nobody will ever know about?

Requiring winners to be named, or to appear at a press conference (they can't make you "hold" a press conference or actually say anything) is just plain good sense from a marketing standpoint. If you ever actually win you may not want to attend the press conference, but there's a really simple way around that. If the hardship of attending a press conference isn't worth the prize, don't play, or give your winning ticket to somebody who doesn't mind going.

How much marketing benefit is gained by giving the name of a person that wins a jackpot as opposed to allowing a winner to remain anonymous?

Does anyone remember the name of the person that wins the jackpot after one month (besides people that do things that keep their name in the public eye)?

A winner should not have to give up privacy when winning a jackpot in in return for minimal (if any) marketing gain.

"They aren't trying to convince an auditor that real people win the lottery, they're trying to convince the public."

WHA?

By having an auditor confirm payment of a prize, they convince the public.
KY Floyd

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Aug 28, 2009, 3:54 pm

Maybe you should reread the sentence that follows the one you quoted. Then look at the posts about RNG drawings, and tell me how well convinced the public is as a result of the auditors verifying those drawings. The common argument from those who don't like RNG drawings is that they can't trust what they can't see, and you can't see anonymous winners. The name of the winner has nothing to do with it. It's the public belief that there is a real winner who is a real player, regardless of what their name might be.

"A winner should not have to give up privacy when winning a jackpot in in return for minimal (if any) marketing gain."

First of all, who says so? Second, the winner is giving up their privacy in exchange for the prize they won, not whatever marketing benefit accrues to the lottery. As I already said, nobody can force you to do that. It's a strictly voluntary choice that you can make by not buying a ticket or not claiming the prize. If you buy a ticket and claim a prize I'll have to assume you decided it was a fair trade whether you think there's an actual marketing benefit or not.
swampfox

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Aug 28, 2009, 4:30 pm

Anyone can claim a lottery in a blanket trust....No one knows who it is....except their lawyer

"All men of power ought to be mistrusted." - James Madison

"While we are contending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not to violate the rights of conscience in others, ever considering that God alone is the judge of the hearts of men, and to him only, in this case, they are answerable." - George Washington... SwampFox Courage is looking danger in the face & saddling up anyway...John Wayne
JWBlue

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Aug 28, 2009, 4:39 pm

Quote: Originally posted by swampfox on Aug 28, 2009
Anyone can claim a lottery in a blanket trust....No one knows who it is....except their lawyer

You are right. The thread is moot.

After my last post in this thread, I did research on living trusts and the name of the owner of a living trust is not public record.

A lawyer isn't even necessary to create a living trust. A simple one (the only aspect of a living trust needed to claim a jackpot is a shield to protect their identity). It can be created online for $80.00.
joshuacloak

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Aug 28, 2009, 4:44 pm

i love how KY changed the point to, RNG lottos

we was talking about mega millions and powerball, going by how sales are, and how some states on both sides of the 2 big games, have anoymous winners,

it does not hurt the lotto sales to allow anoymous winners,

my main post was about my freedom of choice, and you just keep insisting we ether play or don't play, and should be forced to be public

and have no choice on the matter

the point it hurts sales is 0, it does not hurt the public sales overall!

however note, am in tn, and when it does comes to small jackpots as in tn, i don't trust the RNG even if I KNOW WHO THE WINNERS ARE,i just don't play my states lotto, rng jackpots can suck it

but this is about mm, and powerball jackpots, their not RNG

a RNG jackpot is not trusted by the public, and your trying to sneak that in here , when RNG has nonething to do with the main topic at hand,
KY Floyd

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Aug 28, 2009, 5:09 pm

"i love how KY changed the point to, RNG lottos"

I love how you fail to understand that the point is public trust in the honesty of the lottery. If you believe that the public doesn't trust the lottery over RNG's, why is it hard to accept that they may not trust them over unknown winners?

As far as blind trusts providing anonymity, that only works if the lottery will award the prize to a blind trust without knowing who the beneficiary is. Since blind trusts are legal entitites I'd think that the lotteries should have to accept them as the legal owner of a ticket, just as any other legal entity, such as a corporation, can own property, including lottery tickets. Unfortunately, the information I've seen is that some states will only award the prizes when they have the name of an individual (or individuals) who are considered the winner of record.
joshuacloak

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Aug 28, 2009, 8:42 pm

i don;t care if they say they demand a individual name,

they get truste name,, and hell if you can do a trust within a trust

say their 2 diff trusts

Trust A, and trust B

Trust A, claims it for Trust B

yes in the legal world this can be done, ever hear of Parent companys spawning other companys LOL

if we are talking about mm, and pb jackpots, what we are, you have the money to hire a great tax lawyer to do that,

for a lotto to say you can't claim that way, is pure stupid ,with no understanding of the legal world,

so go ahead and name the beneficiary to public, your sure not going to find out if i won or not

i rather dislike you for wanting it to be public always, i think your crazy and wish harm on people cease you wish to know who won always,

the fact i seen countless lotto winners in the public eye be harmed going public, their a lot of bad people out their, it does more harm then good, going public when YOUR a individual and don't wish to be famous, you just want to be Rich, and that what must lotto winners want

to be rich not famous, thats why they play, and a lot claim it on the down low, their not hosting tv shows,

all the musty gone public ones, are stupid people by their actions, you cant fix stupid with money, all you do is give more ways for stupid people to miss up their lives,

if anything, not tricking stupid people in to thinking they Have to be public is a good thing

its all tricks, no one forces them to be public, their a legal way to be oin the down low,

when no one knows you won millions upon millions, they treat you just as a other rich person, a lotto winner gets begged and other carp,

the proof in the past winners,

your don't play idea is stupid, it can be used on you also

if you Don't like anonymity winners, no one forces you to play a anonymity allowed lotto,

see their no point in seeing don't play, it can be said right back at you

i say just demand more competition, and not allow the govt to run ever thing, i glady play any thing not govt ran

that way players can options, and everyone gets what they want, even you mr Force people to be public, so your idea of public trust happens, i already trust the lotto with anonymity winners, see MM and PB players,

sense MM is setting new records, its all about THE MONEY, being public or anonymity has NONETHING TO DO WITH THE PUBLIC TRUST FOR THESE GAMES at this time

no one going omfg, i don't trust the MM or pb atfer someone claims it via anonymity , so your point is moot, saying we need forced public winners for trust at large for the lotto, its just not true
ohiopick3

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Aug 28, 2009, 8:47 pm

Win it first, then worry about how you are going to complain about it.
JWBlue

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Aug 28, 2009, 9:04 pm

Quote: Originally posted by ohiopick3 on Aug 28, 2009
Win it first, then worry about how you are going to complain about it.

What is the point of this board then?

Most of the topics are pointless unless the jackpot is won.
rburton

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Aug 29, 2009, 12:57 pm

Quote: Originally posted by KY Floyd on Aug 28, 2009
Of course there's a good reason to require people to be identified publicly. They aren't trying to convince an auditor that real people win the lottery, they're trying to convince the public. How many people here don't trust computerized drawings despite all the effort the states put into claiming they're fair and truly random? If people don't believe that, why would they believe it when the state claims that the lottery was won, and the prize was paid, to some unidentified person that nobody will ever know about?

Requiring winners to be named, or to appear at a press conference (they can't make you "hold" a press conference or actually say anything) is just plain good sense from a marketing standpoint. If you ever actually win you may not want to attend the press conference, but there's a really simple way around that. If the hardship of attending a press conference isn't worth the prize, don't play, or give your winning ticket to somebody who doesn't mind going.

I dont trust computerized drawings, which the hoosier lottery uses. Indiana allows anonymous winners. Also, the Indiana lotto almost never gets above a few million, where before, when they used balls and it was televised, it would get over 10M quite often.

Plus, the lottery is set at 1M for the first 2 drawings after a winner, so it isnt even increased if a winner isnt chosen until a 3rd drawing and then only increases 500K. Also, the cash option is so low, it isnt even worth playing. Last winner won 3.5M, the cash option before taxes was $976,000. Win a million, you might get $250,000 after taxes. Annuity is $30K for 30 years.

Pretty sure the hoosier lottery is a scam.

Going to start driving to Illinois and playing their lotto. Odds: 1 in 10M and jackpot starts at 2M. Hoosier is 1 in 12M and sticks at 1M.