Everyone wants to know. You see the flashing lights on the news, the neon signs at the gas station hitting $1.5 billion, and the immediate question follows: who is the winner of the lottery this time? It’s a natural curiosity. We want to see a face. We want to see a giant cardboard check. Honestly, we want to see if they look like us—maybe a normal person who just got lucky enough to never work again. But the reality is getting weirder. In 2024 and 2025, a massive shift happened. If you’re looking for a name, you might be looking for a ghost.
Winning isn't what it used to be. Back in the day, you’d have Jack Whittaker or the Robinsons standing on a stage in front of a dozen cameras. Now? It’s all about "The Salt Lake City Trust" or "The Lucky 7 LLC." People are getting smarter. Or maybe they're just getting more scared. With jackpots routinely crossing the billion-dollar mark, the "winner" is often a legal entity designed by a high-priced lawyer to keep the real person out of the spotlight.
The Mystery of the Billion-Dollar Ticket
Take the California Powerball win from late 2023. That $1.765 billion jackpot? The ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park. For months, the town was buzzing. Everyone knew everyone, yet nobody knew the winner. It wasn't until March 2024 that the California Lottery announced a name: Theodorus Struyck. He represented a group of winners. But even with a name, the "who" remains blurry. These aren't influencers looking for fame. They are people who, quite frankly, want to be left alone to buy a boat in peace.
The rules change depending on where you stand. If you buy a ticket in Arizona, Georgia, or New Jersey, you can stay anonymous forever if the prize is big enough. In Arizona, for instance, any win over $100,000 allows you to keep your name out of the press. Forever. Other states like New York or California have historically demanded a name for "transparency." They want the public to know the game isn't rigged. But winners are fighting back. They’re using "Double Blind" trusts. They’re suing lottery commissions.
Why the secrecy? Because winning the lottery can be a nightmare. Ask anyone who followed the story of Manuel Franco, the Wisconsin man who won $768 million in 2019. He was 24. He showed up to the press conference because he had to. He looked terrified. He talked about how he quit his job but felt like people were following him. That’s the "who" nobody wants to be. The winner who becomes a target.
🔗 Read more: Johnny Somali AI Deepfake: What Really Happened in South Korea
Why Finding Out Who Is the Winner of the Lottery Is Getting Harder
State laws are the biggest hurdle. There’s a constant tug-of-war between public right-to-know and personal safety.
- Florida: They keep your name private for 90 days. After that? You’re public record.
- Texas: If you win $1 million or more, you can choose to remain anonymous. This is a huge reason why we see so many "anonymous" winners in the Lone Star State.
- Delaware/Kansas/Maryland: These are the "safe havens" for winners. You can take the money and vanish on day one.
The 2022 Mega Millions win in Illinois is a perfect example of the modern lottery winner. It was $1.337 billion. Two people worked together. They spent weeks consulting with legal and financial advisors before even stepping foot in the lottery office. When they finally claimed it, they did so as a legal entity. We don’t know their ages, their genders, or if they still live in Illinois. We just know they are very, very rich.
The Tax Man Is Always the First Winner
You want to know who really wins every single time? Uncle Sam. Whether it's Powerball or Mega Millions, the IRS takes a mandatory 24% federal withholding right off the top. But that’s just the start. Since the top tax bracket is 37%, most winners owe another 13% come April.
Then you have state taxes. If you win in New York City, you’re looking at state and local taxes that can eat up another 10-15%. However, if you win in a state like Florida, Texas, or South Dakota, you pay $0 in state taxes. That is a massive swing in net worth based purely on where you bought a slip of thermal paper. When we talk about who is the winner of the lottery, the government is always the majority shareholder in that prize.
💡 You might also like: Sweden School Shooting 2025: What Really Happened at Campus Risbergska
The Myth of the "Lotto Curse"
We’ve all heard the horror stories. Billy Bob Harrell Jr. gave away too much and ended his own life. Janite Lee spent $18 million on political donations and ended up in bankruptcy. These stories are the reason why modern winners are so obsessed with anonymity.
Nuance matters here, though. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research actually found that lottery winners generally report higher life satisfaction years later. The "curse" is mostly a media narrative driven by the few who crashed and burned. Most winners—the ones whose names we never find out—actually handle it just fine. They buy a nice house, hire a wealth manager, and disappear into the suburbs.
What Happens Behind the Scenes
When a winner is identified, the process isn't instant. If you held the winning ticket for tonight's drawing, you wouldn't get a check tomorrow. There is a verification period that can last weeks. Security teams check the ticket for alterations. They check where it was bought. They check surveillance footage from the store.
I've talked to lottery officials who say the most stressful part for them isn't the money—it's the people who show up claiming they "lost" the winning ticket. In the case of the $2.04 billion Powerball win in California (Edwin Castro), there was actually a lawsuit filed by a man claiming the ticket was stolen from him. Castro was eventually confirmed as the rightful winner, but it shows the chaos that follows a name being released.
📖 Related: Will Palestine Ever Be Free: What Most People Get Wrong
How to Handle Being the One
If you find yourself asking "who is the winner" because you’re staring at a ticket with matching numbers, the steps aren't what they used to be.
- Shut up. Seriously. Don't call your mom. Don't post on Facebook. The moment the word is out, your life as a private citizen is over.
- Sign the back (maybe). Some lawyers suggest waiting until you know if you're claiming via a trust. If you sign your name, you might have just locked yourself into being a public figure.
- Hire the "Trinity." You need a tax attorney, a CPA, and a reputable financial advisor from a major firm. Not your cousin who does taxes. A firm that deals with ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
- Change your phone number. Do it before you claim the prize. You will be harassed by "long-lost" relatives and investment scammers within hours of the announcement.
- Decide on the Lump Sum. Almost everyone takes the cash. For a $1 billion prize, the cash value is usually around $500 million. After taxes, you're left with maybe $300 million. It's a huge haircut, but most people want the control now rather than waiting 30 years for an annuity.
The Reality of Modern Jackpots
The reason we see so many billion-dollar prizes now isn't luck. It's math. The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) changed the rules for Powerball in 2015 and Mega Millions in 2017. They made it harder to win. By making the odds longer, the jackpots grow for months without being hit. This creates the "lottery fever" that drives ticket sales through the roof.
It also means that when someone finally wins, the prize is so massive it becomes a security risk. That is why the answer to who is the winner of the lottery is increasingly "a legal representative for an anonymous group."
Actionable Steps for the Curious
If you are tracking a specific winner, start with the official state lottery website. They are legally required to post the "winner's" name as it appears on the claim form. If you see an LLC name, you can sometimes search the Secretary of State records to see who registered the business, though smart winners use "registered agents" (usually lawyers) to keep their names off those documents too.
For those playing the game, the best way to ensure you are the winner who stays safe is to check your state's anonymity laws before you even buy a ticket. If you live in a "public" state, consider buying your tickets when you travel to an "anonymous" state. It's perfectly legal to claim a prize in the state where the ticket was purchased, regardless of where you live.
The identity of the lottery winner is becoming a guarded secret, a shift from public celebration to private security. While we might never get the name of the next billionaire, the trend is clear: the bigger the prize, the quieter the winner. Keep an eye on local news in the town where the ticket was sold, as that's often the only place where the "real" identity ever slips out through word of mouth.