Includes video report
RATHDRUM, Idaho — A 29-year-old mother of two and former bank worker from northern Idaho has claimed the remaining half of a $380 million Mega Millions jackpot, lottery officials and others said Wednesday.
Holly Lahti, of the small town of Rathdrum, will split the second-largest lottery jackpot in history with Jim and Carolyn McCullar of Ephrata, Wash.
The McCullars appeared at a news conference last Thursday to announce they'd won half the jackpot, or $190 million.
Lahti wasn't on hand for Wednesday's announcement in Boise and officials released few details about her, saying she wished to stay out of the spotlight for now.
"She's requested that the media respect her privacy and not attempt to contact her until she's prepared to speak to you," Idaho Lottery Director Jeff Anderson said at a news conference.
He referred to Lahti as a "delightful young lady" and said he tried to persuade her to go public because there are "a lot of curious people out there." But he said she has a lot to get in order first.
"We expect she'll be coming forward shortly," Anderson said.
Public records show Lahti lives in Rathdrum, a town of about 7,000 in the scenic Idaho Panhandle. She had worked since 2007 as a customer service representative at Inland Northwest Bank in nearby Post Falls, but she resigned Monday, said Holly Poquette, the bank's chief financial officer.
Poquette works in Spokane, Wash., and does not know Lahti. But the manager of the Post Falls branch, Sussana Spencer, called Lahti an "amazing person."
"She's going to do wonderful things with the money," Spencer said. She had no details.
Lahti's estranged husband, Josh Lahti of Rathdrum, said Wednesday he did not know Lahti was the winner of the huge Mega Millions prize until he was told by a reporter. But he said she plays the lottery often.
He said the two have been married about a decade but are separated, and they have two daughters, ages 10 and 12.
Nobody was around at the Rathdrum home of Holly Lahti's mother, Elaine C. Alford. But neighbor Eric Miller said Holly Lahti visits her mother almost daily. Miller, 19, also hadn't heard about Holly Lahti's winnings.
"I want to go over there and be her friend now," Miller said laughing. "But she's really nice, very friendly."
Meanwhile, word of Rathdrum's newest multimillionaire began to spread through the fast-growing town about 25 miles northeast of Spokane.
Travis Herron, who works in a local tobacco shop, said he bought 10 tickets for the Mega Millions drawing but didn't win anything.
Herron, 23, said he didn't know Holly Lahti, but added that if he had won $190 million, "I wouldn't want to be talking either, the days and times the way they are."
Although Mega Millions is played in 41 states and Washington, D.C., the two winning tickets were purchased by people living in small towns just 125 miles apart in the Inland Northwest. Ephrata, Wash., has about 7,500 people.
The drawing was held Jan. 4, and residents began buzzing when they found out one of the winning tickets was sold in Post Falls, a suburban community of housing developments, big box stores and fast-food restaurants.
"Once people hear this, Ady's Convenience & Car Wash is going to become the luckiest place in northern Idaho," Anderson said of the store where Lahti bought her ticket.
An Ady's clerk, Leasa Moore, said Lahti bought a ticket at the store the day of the drawing and returned the next day to check the numbers.
"She let out a big scream," Moore said Wednesday. "She was pretty excited."
Moore said Lahti is a regular at the store, which is near the bank where Lahti worked.
"She's a great gal, very levelheaded," Moore added.
The winners had to match five numbers plus the "Mega ball." The numbers were 4, 8, 15, 25 and 47, and 42 as the Mega ball.
Jim, 68, and Carolyn, 63, McCullar had played some combination of those numbers for years because they're based on the couple's birthdays.
Anderson said Lahti let the computer pick her numbers.
Lahti has claimed her winnings but not yet cashed in her ticket, he said. If she takes a lump sum payment, she would get $120 million before taxes. The federal government would take $30 million, while the Idaho State Tax Commission would take a $9 million slice, leaving her with about $80.7 million.
Ady's Convenience & Car Wash receives a $50,000 award.
Lahti is not the first Idaho jackpot winner to try and avoid the media crush and public attention. In 2005, Brad Duke of Boise sought to keep a low profile after winning a $220 million Powerball drawing. Duke assembled a team of lawyers and accountants and asked the Idaho Lottery Commission for complete anonymity.
But former Idaho Lottery Director Roger Simmons denied the request, arguing that state law and the integrity of the lottery required that his name be made public to show he had no ties to lottery employees or vendors.
Duke later appeared at a news conference in Boise and made several appearances on national television talk shows.
Thanks to B$Rizzle for the tip.
Looks like the estranged husband just won $95 Million. Congrats to the young lady and her two daughters. She won $190 million with a quick pick. Wow!
oh that should be a real battle .............. what a nightmare... hopefully they will work things out and get back together..
she wished to stay out of the spotlight for now."She's requested that the media respect her privacy and not attempt to contact her until she's prepared to speak to you,
what a dumb idea, media does not respect privacy let alone public at large, why do people want privacy yet not go the hide behind a trust and a lawyers name is beyond me
if the lottery ,state says they must give a name, 2 can play dirty, its called hide behind the legal entity's game, aka trusts and laywers
fact her name out their, she will be hunted down now, she must know this, guest these people who win large jackpots, want privacy yet have their name out their, Must learn the Hard way!
i love how on some lottery changed my life ep shows, i love seeing Really large winners, get god knows how many letters asking for money, and the winner like i just want to be left alone
will you should of never made your name public, geez
she better buy a new home where no one even knows about it besides her close family, kids etc
, live where no one knows about her,
and hide, as thats the only way she getting privacy now,
she must become untraceable, old house, old address, old area you use to live in, has to now be left out of her life or they find her, , people wanting privacy with their names being know,
thats making it as hard on your self as you can at best for wanting privacy, at the worst, its just flat out idiotic
ether way, i hope she and her kids enjoy the cash,maybe she can home school them, as now ever kid in their school will soon know their loaded
glad to see a quick pick won the other half, with the other being self pack
Congratulations to Holly and her family.
Glad for her that she won. Sorry for her for all the vicious pirannhas out there that will have her in their sights.
OK. Just to be clear, I looked up the definition of "estranged". Estranged does not mean already divorced. Looks like the "estranged" husband just won 1/4 of the 380 million jackpot. This sucks for her, but great for him.
Congratulations to Holly.... I bet her "estranged" husband is one happy _________.....you know the rest! LOL
Anyone know how Brad Duke could've collected without revealing his name?
YEP! I remember on LP there was a story a while back regarding a guy who won several Mill and he was divorced. Once his ex-wife found out she sued him and the judge awarded her a few Mill...( If I can remember corectly)
He should have waited about two months got his affairs straight and created a trust to cash ticket. If would have waited all the hoop about who won would have died down. But now he will be besieged with talk show offers,news interviews beggars etc.
I hope she doesn't have to give him a cent. There's always reason for seperation. He doesn't deserve
any of it, it was her working money that bought the ticket, nothing from him. I wish her luck and happiness. Now all the losers will come out of the woodwork to try and hook you. Turn them all away.
Rule of common sense should be if you are in a dysfunctional relationship, do not play the jackpot games until you are completely out of it.
Focus on the pick 5 games. So you don't have to worry about the greedy vipers taking half of what you won.
I am happy for this woman but miffed that the "estranged" husband is about to walk off with half of what should be all hers.
Live and learn.
PERDUE,
Considering some of the threads here on LP about exes being granted shares of jackpots, I don't think it would matter if a person was "completely out" of a relationship or not.
Isn't there a thread in the news about someone who had been divorced for 10 years surfacing, asking for half of a jackpot, and getting it?
sweet. another win for the quick piggies
now delta draw can come back to extol the virtues of staying with QP's as a "methodology" to insure a JP win, seeing how he was insinuating it wasn't random for the other claimant of this JP to stick with his bday numbers, and that's the reason the guy won......lol
play your numbers within your means, play your birthday numbers or throw 1QP at it.....it's still random
she and her husband may be apart, but just because she won the JP doesn't mean she wasn't the cause of their breakup.
he may very well be the "good guy" in that scenario
lottery, fame, fortune, wealth, etc......they all have a way of twisting what's really true in the values of life category.
why you can be charlie sheen, and it's still considered "good"...
From her FB page
Listen, as you can all imagine, there are a ton of messages coming in, & there is so much to do. Please send 1 message if you have a request or pitch or plea. I promise to read them all & even if it takes a month to go through, all of your messages will be acknowledged. Please be patient, & respectful of privacy, don't be rude. Thanks
She really shouldn't have posted this. It's going to throw the sharks into a frenzy.
She seems like a nice person, and I wish her the best Congrats!!
I agree, the sharks are already on their way! I read some of the requests...geez let the lady at least accept the winnings first dayum....I would have definitely taken a differnet route and NOT created a FB page.
Also Im wondering if those FB pages are even legit, or if they were created by someone else trying to get attention.
Congrats to the winner. I thinks it's great that she's taking her time before going public. She's a Lucky Lady.
Poor thing. She's a nice lady, but she needs to show some teeth and claws. Otherwise, she'll be overwhelmed with all the pressure.
That is not her FB page. It was set up by this guy:
http://dollarscholar.com/?p=867
If you look carefully at her pic, you will see the website watermark.
Best wishes to her ..........
Her hubby should maybe get a token amount .............
they are separated .............
I would hide ......................
and now I am waiting for Saturday's Powerball Drawing !
Congrats to this young women,however i see a ugly divorce coming and her husband gets half the pie. It is funny how people resurface after someone hit it big.Good luck to her.
Now im Happy for her and have NO idea of her situation but there are stories, true and untrue all the time of women leaving their husband for other men/women/careers whatever and then using the bias legal system to keep the kids from her husband. So what im saying is dont judge her situation for the good or bad, the husband may very well have been put through hell and karma may be in play.
Do i believe this is true..nahh, most likely its a divorce where they could not afford the divorce (been there) and they could be great friends and he may take a "token" .
Now i hope that the legal vultures can be kept out of it and not pursuade him to go for half (if thats not what they want) and by vultures i dont lump all lawyers, just ones that work on percentage
Good luck and happy "houdini-ing" to the winner!!
God job. I would have done the samething. Only the stupids reveal themselves to the public media.
Why would she go out and make a facebook page? The first thing I'd be doing is deleting that! Second, her husband sadly will get some money which is sad really, and finally, I hope she does well with this money but the Sharks are out now..
Ex-wife gets millions from lottery winner 10 years after leaving him
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/223712
People should remember that this was in the U.K. Although the language is the same, the laws are very different than in the U.S.A.
From Artemis' post:
From her FB page
Listen, as you can all imagine, there are a ton of messages coming in, & there is so much to do. Please send 1 message if you have a request or pitch or plea. I promise to read them all & even if it takes a month to go through, all of your messages will be acknowledged. Please be patient, & respectful of privacy, don't be rude. Thanks
If she really did that (and it's not someone posing as her) she has got to be really naive. I hope we don't see her on The Curse of the Lottery.
I sure hope she did delete it all.
Me personallyi I would have waited least 2 months to cash8 the ticket(trust) that way all the curiosity of who won the lottery is dead. You already have the money in a sense now that you have the ticket.just put in a safety deposit box or bank,keep your mouth closed.and just sit down those two months and make plans for your money. But some people. Are so anxious and are surprised when the sharks smell blood in the water.Lao.
Congrats to the young lady and her family.
If she is 29 and has 10 & 12 yr old kids... she and her estranged husband were *very* young when they got married. And given they way things go.. I'm guessing he will wind up with half. It will be interesting to see which of the two is wisest with their money.
Radar online has an article about them. I can't seem to get a link up from my mobile.
I hope this is a blessing, not a curse. It would be a crime to waste this windfall.
Radar Online link.
Congratulations to the Idaho winner.
WOW.... Hopefully they can improve their life now.
The TV program Inside Edition just showed a picture of her with a blackeye when she was together with her husband. He's been arrested 20 times and one time was charged with kidnapping, battery and domestic assault but not comvictdd or something.
They said she is now in hiding and he may get half of her jackpot.
The laws are nuts.
Her not doing a press conference makes people want to know even more. Therefore they start digging i.e. Inside Edition's scoop. Hopefully she doesn't blow the windfall.
Agreed. Unfortunately, he will get his "fair share".
Inside Edition aired all their dirty laundry. Domestic violence, assault and battery, kidnapping etc. That is why I love the Lottery. It doesn't discriminate. The lottery don't care if you are black, white, fat, skinny, dumb, smart, pretty, ugly, short or tall. All that matters is you bought a ticket. The winners comes from all social and economic backgrounds.That is what keep us dreaming.
I hope this money do not destroy their lives,they have children to live for. Some people always play the lottery but when they win, they have an enormous amount of money that they are not use to having can ruin them.
he'll get what every estranged partner gets. too much. but thats how it is.
Usually if people are divorced, the spouse does not receive any winnings; separated, yes. Of course, if there are children under 18, he or she must support them. I recall about thirteen years ago, a New Jersey wife sued for half the husband's winnings and lost because they were divorced. In fact, he hit the lottery after divorcing her 6 months. So, the joke was...she should have remained married to him instead of divorcing.
Now, the wife who divorced her husband and won some of his lottery winnings is not the norm. In fact, if I recall, the lawsuit was not in the United States.
Well, freeobama, I agree with you -- perhaps, their lives will improve. Sometimes financial stress may cause some people to act foolishly -- domestic violence.
If he gets half, there will be no need for him to reconcile; he has his, she has hers. More than likely, he will go about his merry way, hopefully, staying in contact with his kids. I would not be surprised if he was dating before the big news splash. I hope he has not made any more kids.
Note. If this jackpot winner waited TWO months from now she would have missed the 60 day limit with which to select the "lump sum, cash" option. [The last time a jackpot winner selected the "annuity" amount (mainly advertised) was in year 2007!]
Congratulations jackpot sharing winners!
According to the Idaho lottery FAQ the winner has up to sixty days after the ticket is presented to decide if they want the single cash payment or the annuity.
http://www.idaholottery.com/theidaholottery/faqs.aspx
"It is the policy of the Idaho Lottery Commission to allow on-line jackpot winners to defer for sixty days following the presentation of the winning ticket, an election as to whether to receive the prize in the form of an annuity or a single cash payment as a procedure in the rules of the game. The election, once made, is binding and cannot be changed without the specific approval of the Idaho Lottery Commission."
WHAT ?? These are the ilk of people that won instead of ME, God ??????
(see the "Radar Online" link from pg 3)
What did I ever do to you ??? (hahahah)
These Hippy's will have that $$ gone in no-time wasted on dope & who knows what
......ought to be law......
he could have set it up in a trust and then the lawyer becomes the spokesperson, but some states might not let you ! I know that a few years ago a couple did that in Ohio.
Congratulations to the winner! Legally, her husband is entitled to part of the winning since they are not divorced, unfortunatedly. In the case where people are already divorced. The spouse should not have been able to win any money unless. the spouse won during the marriage, filed for divorce and kept the assets hidden during the divorce proceedings, or child support was not paid after the divorce and their is a claim by spouse for having to maintain sole support of minor children.
Question, I too believe i would want to establish a trust and have a representative, bank employee or lawyer claim for me. Do trusts use EIN number or would the person's Social Security Number have to be used. That would certainly open the door for some investigative reporter to id the winner.
I have to disagree. When the tables are turned the other way (i.e. man wins lottery and is separated from wife), the winner usually is forced to share some portion of the winnings with the estranged partner. The feminist movement has been screaming for equality for decades...well, now we will see equality truly in action when this lady has to share her jackpot winnings with her estranged husband. Equality...fairness...gotta love it!
congratulation all winners
I can't wait to see how this plays out....I really don't think he will get half of her 80 Million, but if he does I wonder how much he will have to pay his attorney? Did everyone see her photo with the black eye? She should count this marriage as a loss, pay him half and move forward with her life! You can easily live off 40 Million for the rest of your life...at least I know I could.