Someone can win the $1.8B Powerball Jackpot on Saturday. Strangely, their identities will remain a mystery

Timothy Schultz, an employee of the Iowa gas station, decided to hold a press conference after winning a $29 million lottery prize in 1999. Lottery officials told him that it would help him avoid being “hunted by the media” because state law requires his name to be disclosed.

But the 21-year-old man soon felt the consequences of his overnight fame.

He felt like a “headlight deer”, and his life changed immediately: strangers often asked him to sign his own or “wipe him good luck.” Shultz, now in his 40s, said he would consider staying anonymous today if he gets the choice.

“I’m no longer just Tim, I’m a Tim lottery winner,” Schultz said.

Saturday’s drawings were $1.8 billion

Saturday’s $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot is the second biggest in history, but even with winners, don’t expect to discover who you are or how to use the bonus – unlike Schultz’s winnings, most winners can now remain anonymous.

Lawmakers in many states have changed rules in recent decades to protect winners from criminals and immoral people’s demands for money. Even in about twenty states where the name is disclosed, winners are advised to avoid public scrutiny.

Kurt Panouses is a lottery lawyer who has represented winners for decades, including hundreds of millions of dollars.

Panouses advises his clients to use intermediaries where possible and announce prizes on busy news day, such as Election Day, to avoid coverage.

Panouses regularly asks from investors, scammers and people in need, all trying to attract his clients.

“It’s hard to say no for people who have no experience or perspective on life,” Panouses said.

Lottery has a long history of public disclosure

Not always this way. For centuries, public disclosure of those who win votes has been an important part of ensuring that people can trust the lottery.

The history of American lottery can be traced back to the 1700s, when governments used them to raise funds as they do now. Jonathan D.

Early on, they were more like a raffle. The winners will be announced at the fair for ticket holders in the audience.

In the 1980s, in some states, people would buy tickets to the jackpot game through face-to-face drawings, Cohen said. About 20 people will stand on the stage, and one of them will win. Their emotional personal stories help drive the popularity of lottery.

“This is this housewife, this is this orphan,” Cohen said. “The people who won the lottery sat there, and of course, immediately started crying.”

He said big lottery like the big multinational lottery, like Powerball and Mega Millions, undermines this approach when no one wins and generates increasingly larger jackpots. It reduces the human factor but allows for larger prizes.

Nine states allow all lottery winners to be completely anonymous in all lottery tickets. Ten states allow lottery winners to remain anonymous in victory, thus exceeding a certain bonus, ranging from $10,000 in Minnesota to $10 million in Virginia.

In some states where there are no anonymous winners, people can still claim prizes anonymously through private trusts.

Attorney Mark K. Harder announced a $842.4 million jackpot in 2024 on behalf of a Michigan couple.

Apart from security concerns, Harder said the couple wanted to be considered “the way they have been considered.”

Harder said the family also hired a public relations team to review their social media profiles to make sure they don’t accidentally throw anything away.

At least one winner regrets the grand prize

In a well-known case, Andrew “Jack” Whittaker Jr. of West Virginia is the biggest American lottery jackpot ever won by a ticket.

But he soon became a victim of scandals, lawsuits and personal setbacks, and later said he hoped to tear up the votes himself. He died in 2020.

Cohen said such a well-known example is outliers. He said the vast majority of winners are healthier and richer than non-winners.

At the same time, states are interested in revealing names that hinder fraud and increase trust, he said.

“You don’t want the lottery director’s nephew to win every jackpot, just declare it anonymously and no one knows who it is,” Cohen said.

He noted that states have mechanisms to prevent such tricks, such as requiring the disclosure of the winner’s names to their lottery committees.

By far, the winner of the biggest jackpot has purchased his ticket in California, which requires disclosure. Edwin Castro claimed to be awarded the 2022 grand prize worth $2.04 billion, but refused to speak to reporters and issued a written statement.

Last year, a Lao immigration and cancer survivor shocked recent trends after winning a $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot at a press conference, raising a huge check on his head. Schultz said these stories, as well as his own, have value.

“I think if they want to inspire others, that might be really positive,” he said.