ALBANY, N.Y. — A 500 million dollar jackpot can get you a lot of things, but anonymity isn't one of them.
Gov. Cuomo on Saturday announced he vetoed a bill that would have allowed lottery winners in New York to remain anonymous if they so desired.
Under state law, jackpot winners in most cases must agree to be identified publicly.
A bill passed earlier this year by the state Legislature would have prohibited the state Lottery from identifying any holder of a winning lottery ticket if that person provided a written request.
In vetoing the bill, Cuomo said that identifying winners serves a public purpose, including ensuring the public the games are on the up-and-up.
"The presentation and sharing of certain information provides comfort to the general public that there was an actual winner, and the state was not simply adding all the money to its own coffers," Cuomo wrote in his veto message.
The governor added that those wanting to remain anonymous under current law have the option of forming a limited liability company to collected the winnings for them.
Doing so "maintains accountability to the public while also allowing the individual to remain anonymous," Cuomo wrote.
In pushing the bill, state Sen. Kathy Marchione (R-Saratoga County) and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D-Sullivan County) had said the idea of giving the option of privacy is to protect lottery winners from being targets of scams and criminal activity.
Cuomo also vetoed about a dozen public pension sweetener bills Saturday that he said would be too costly to the state and local governments.
He has a good point I suppose about getting an LLC and claiming it that way.
Will his veto hurt NY lottery sales...NO!
If and I mean IF, forming an LLC in the state of NY does protect folks by anonymity,then it does seem acceptable. However, if a FOI request can almost produce the same results as a presentation of information to "provide comfort" that there was an actual winner ? ..Then I am not so convinced... After all,it is Cuomo and his reputation is.... Well....let's just call it "unique and self-serving".
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Lol. No kidding. Has anyone heard of someone in NYC claiming via a llc? Anyone familiar with what the NY lottery rules say? I just took a very quick look and do not see any reference to anonymity or defining a claimant so the door may be open there like in DC.
The NY Foia law does not mention lottery winners but does reference some exceptions like unwarranted invasions of privacy, obtaining info for commercial purposes, etc. But you would have to take some action there. Your LLC would likely have corporate documents filed with the names of the key parties so that would automatically be public info. Maybe a trust is an option.
When will the people of New York wake up and remove that obstacle.
GFY Cuomo
I see our "Mr Rogers" of the Texas lottery is up and at it this morning.
My money is not on the GFY standing for "good for you"
Hey, get your mind out of the gutter!
NY is hardest to beat among all lotteries...Its rigged when it's needed so why worry about anonymity? First have to beat NYL when it's playing fair
Jackboot Thug!
So much for moving forward instead of backward!
Right, it definitely won't hurt ticket sales.
Players need to understand that The NY Lottery knows something. The NY Lottery knows that they are the largest lottery in North America. Due to that, they (and Andrew Cuomo) can pretty much do as they please. There's more than enough people living in the state who buy lottery tickets.
And how many players were even aware that a bill had been passed by the state legislature and sent to Cuomo for his signature? Hardly any is my guess. (I know I sure wasn't) And I'm sure that the news that Cuomo vetoed the bill will not be heavily covered by the press. G5
Winners should be able to remain anonymous for winnings over a specific amount.
Never understood why the third party account firms that witness the drawings can not also confirm there has been a winner.
Hello everyone, do anyone see 100 or 100 for today Sunday 12/09/2018?
So os Cuomo implying that states that do allow winners to remain anonymous their lotteries are not on the up and up?
In situations like this players should do a total boycott of the lottery but unfortunately that would never happen.
.
Even better: they should be able to remain anonymous for any winning amount, unless they enrolled in a subscription, and then only the IRS.
Mr Groppo
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So this Cuomo NUT - what's the real reason he's vetoing against peoples' privacy, in the state that also doesn't allow privately owned handguns?
The old movie "Escape from New York", starring Kurt Russell
sort of comes to mind.
I'm glad I don't live in New York, anyway. I've been there, several times, but not to $$$$Central Park$$$$. I couldn't afford to live there, anyway, even if I was insane enough to choose to live there. Way too bitter cold in the winter (see the Movie "The French Connection"). It's too busy and vehemently ugly with no offense intended to the Lottery Post members who currently (and hopefully temporarily) reside there. I feel sorry for anyone who lives/works/has ties there, including our President Trump.
And this Cuommie fellow wants to do something beneficial for the people?
He should pack his things and move to Russia - a place I can't can't get far enough away from, as it is. Good AND bad, may Jehovah God bless the U.S.A. (the rest of it, anyway)
Mr. Groppo
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!
Totally disagree with such a move as a person's safety and well being are paramount when it comes to money, greed, and mischief. No consideration for the general public what so ever and it's pathetic. No ones needs to know, except for the lottery officials, that I've won unless I choose to disclose it.
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/23/18015978/lottery-winners-anonymous-mega-millions-prize-jackpot
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No, you're right it'll never be boycotted.
Additionally, I've said for a long time, that the whole lottery should be put under our government's Administration. Keep our ids hush-hush and all that.
However many dollars spent to be taken out of pay checks issued in and by the U.S.A., and have a drawing every month.
It would fairly cut out our participation from the rest of the globe's lottos, but do we need our dollars to go out to the rest of the world, anyway? Which country's lottos have maintained the consistently highest prize averages on mm and pb?
Additionally, I think a "Lottoexit" would only help us.
Mr. Groppo
Simple solution. Don't play. You won't win. Nothing to worry about.
If you don't play, you don't lose either.
You've said this before. Is this assertion based on your mathematical analysis, or just you being pouty because you haven't won a big prize?
If you like gambling, you're better off learning a card game of skill like poker, gin rummy, cribbage or bridge and playing for money against people who aren't as good as you. The lottery is a sucker's bet and should only be played for fun. If you're not having fun, quit.
There are ways to remain anonymous. But I also believe their are ways to find out if youre anonymous who you are. If I won 250 million, you can bet your bottom dollar I’d have ex Navy Seals as bodyguards. I wouldnt be worried at all. I’d be happy as a clam. :)
Good to see bi-partisan cooperation between Sen. Kathy Marchione (R-Saratoga County) and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D-Sullivan County)
This bodes well for the future. I hope both parties continue to work together for the best interests of all New Yorkers.
A quote from Congressman John Conyers, "It is not as bad as it seems".
Using an LLC could be a good method for self-protection. Even a Revocable Living Trust might do the job.
Soledad, Hiring ex-military could become a problem. They might not know the State and Federal laws.
You will be a High Net Worth HNW or even an Ultra High Net Worth UHNW client. You could afford the best protection.
Enjoy being a HAPPY CLAM!
It’s not that high but its high enough. I’ve known people who’ve had ex-seals as bodyguards. Didnt seem to be a problem. Those seals are really good. Practically invisible to be honest.
Good to have quality referrals for hiring another person. Thanks, I will keep them in mind when my lucky day strikes.
You can't remain anonymous unless you're in this Country ILLEGALLY and vote democrat, in which case, we'll with-hold your name and protect you from ICE.
Cuomo is doing what the California lottery advocates. Which is If you win, " You may form a trust, but your name will still be made public." They also call that " Transparency."
*** If you want to get rid of junk during the holidays, put it in Amazon boxes & leave them on your front porch.
All states should just copy Australia and put a NP box on the play slips, NO PUBLICITY. (Goes for MM and PB too).
Simple solution.
As far as the right to kno0w crowd goes, let's face it a good many of them would forget all about right to know if they won a jackpot,
How about attacking the problem from the other side and pass a bill that lottery winners of over "x" million dollars get New York State Police Security Teams assigned to them and their families. With the taxes the winners pay on the jackpots New York could afford to do that.
A 500 million dollar jackpot can get you a lot of things, but anonymity isn't one of them.
If the bill specified jackpot winners over $500 million, it's easy to understand why it was vetoed and might be understandable if it didn't include all prize winners over $601.
In pushing the bill, state Sen. Kathy Marchione (R-Saratoga County) and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther (D-Sullivan County) had said the idea of giving the option of privacy is to protect lottery winners from being targets of scams and criminal activity.
It's obvious those two legislators don't read Lottery Post. Some states lotteries are concerned that some people are illegally buying winning tickets and cashing them as if they had bought them. Maybe with anonymity, Eddie Tipton could have collected winnings from the drawing he rigged.
*** Boda Bing!
I didn't think CD was thinking that GFY meant "Good For You" either
Cuomo said you could still remain anonymous with a llc. Wonder if one could set up a llc, install your legal rep as an officer of the llc, have she/he claim the money on behalf of llc and then dissolve the llc months later? The winner would have a separate private agreement with the attorney to turn the money over once the initial taxes are taken out.
For the States , who aren't Anonymous , Should be and those governors , should do the same .
Why are "certain " states wins more than the other states?
Well the only person who's happy about this development is that photobombing woman from the lottery office who insists on having her cheesy grinning face in every winner's photo. Her job is apparently secure.
What's wrong with Yolanda?
She's just doing her job.
Tough job. For some reason I don't consistently see the same lottery person's grill in all the other states' winner photos but to each his own.
Well it could just be time to change Governor's to candidates who listen to the desires of the electorate, don't you think?
"The governor added that those wanting to remain anonymous under current law have the option of forming a limited liability company to collected the winnings for them."
News to me, but maybe he just has a different definition of anonymity. I've long been under the impression that the NY lottery identified actual people even when they used some alternate legal entity to claim the prize.
Of course if the lottery isn't going to require that at least one real person in the LLC to be identified then the LLC can be owned by a trust in order to shield your identity. An LLC can also be owned by another LLC, and I'm a sure that the LLC that owns and claims the ticket can be from another state. The big problem is whether or not using an LLC will really keep your name from being directly released by the lottery.
"Under state law, jackpot winners in most cases must agree to be identified publicly."
It would be nice to know just what the law really says. The stories about the woman who signed her own name on that NH lottery ticket said winner's names were required to be revealed, but it turned out to just be the lottery's interpretation of the law requiring information about the state's business to be available to the public. Not long after that the PA lottery accepted a claim from a trust and only disclosed the name of the trustee based on the (non-binding) ruling in NH. That certainly suggests that the "requirement" to release winners' names that PA had been following was probably also based on a right to know law and not a specific law requiring winners' identities to be public. If the NY "requirement" to release names turns out to also be based on a right to know law or a lottery rule rather than an actual statute it's certainly possible that a lawsuit would fix that.
Of course just like claiming with an LLC I'd think that winners' attorneys would already have thoroughly researched the specific requirements. Getting copies of all lottery rules would certainly be one of my earliest steps, and looking at the relevant legislation would follow at some point before filing out the claim form.
"in the state that also doesn't allow privately owned handguns? "
So what public entity owns the millions of handguns in the possession of New Yorkers?
of course that will never happen or people would forget to mark it every time they played jejejeje
Well Merry Christmas to you.
I love Yolanda Vega as do New Yorkers I'm sure. Otherwise she'd be long gone. Happy Birthday fellow Sagittarian Yolanda!
Published on Oct 13, 2016
I'm Yolanda Vega!
10 Things You Should Do If You Win The Lottery
TheMeatman2005, Thank you for posting this video of Yolanda Vega being interviewed by Sheppard Smith. I will play all quick picks when I buy tickets on Tuesday, 12/11/2018 I will remember that I took Yolanda's advice.
Good Luck to all LP Members.
I am looking forward to someone in NY claiming a big win via a Llc and quoting Cuomo.
Pretty good video except for the blind trust part. Should have said it can vary per state and there are different types of trusts. A blind trust would not be your best option anyway.
NY is constantly desperate for revenue, and anonymous winners might possibly cut into that, so no, we can't do that. As if they don't have any auditors or anything.
All NYers should boycott the lottery until that pig government stops forcing people to reveal their names when they win big monies.
The riots have started!!!!
My vote for the song that should be assigned to the riot video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvGaSu1XoF0
We were drilling a well just across the OK state line and it was so far in the boondocks, there weren't many radio stations we could get other than a couple of country stations, esp. late at night on the drive home. This song was just out and being played all the time and we all got sick of it, even the guys that liked country . I swear, we could change the station and it would come on the other station not long after. Another song we all got sick of was The Bellamy Brothers' "Redneck Girl", released about the same time. Both were cute songs...the first hundred times we heard them. "Bobbie Sue" by the Oak Ridge Boys, was another that was WAY overplayed, ditto for "Always on my Mind" by Willie Nelson, but at least that one wasn't TOO bad...I mean, it WAS Willie, after all. That was around the time when country transitioned into pop...well, I called it "pop corn".
I purchased $40.00 worth of advance-play tickets. All quick picks. MM & PB.
Other states allows anonymity it works out fine.The legislators should override the veto since majority of senators and assembly members voted for the bill.
Mike, in effect MAD Alfred sums it all up
What will be wil be soon
And what's not to be....
Cannot be changed by any power on earth :-)
I always like to see a big winner in the lottery. If someone wins, they should show themselves to the general public. If I ever win it big in the lottery, I would show myself to everyone and express my gratitude to the state lottery that I had won and then go hire a few body guards!