California gained another billionaire last Wednesday when one lucky winner secured the $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot, lottery officials said.
After 38 rollovers since April 19, the enormous sum was won by a single ticket purchased at Las Palmitas Mini Market in downtown Los Angeles. The store's owner, Navor Herrera and family, received a $1 million bonus check for selling the winning ticket.
The life-changing sum—the third-largest Powerball jackpot and sixth-largest U.S. lottery jackpot—has yet to be claimed. The winner has a choice between a lump sum payment of $558.1 million and an annuitized prize of $1.08 billion in which they will receive one immediate payment, then 29 annual payments that increase 5 percent each year, according to the Powerball website.
Winning the jackpot does not come without some strings attached, however, and California's rules may differ from other states.
Is Anonymity an Option?
So you hit the jackpot and are hoping to hot-foot it to Beverly Hills without having to deal with long-lost cousins coming out of the woodwork? Maybe not, as it depends on which state you purchased the ticket.
Some states, like Delaware, Kansas and Texas, afford you this right to remain anonymous. Others, including California, do not. The California Lottery Winner's Handbook suggests "changing your cell and home phone numbers or allowing your voicemail to pick up calls for a few days" if it all gets too much.
You Have One Year to Claim Your Prize
Rules for Powerball and Mega Millions winners differ slightly from other lottery winners. You have just 12 months to come forward and claim your Powerball and Mega Millions prize from the day the ticket was purchased, while for other lotteries, you have 18 months.
Winners Are Checked by Law Enforcement
Expect to be lightly grilled by law enforcement to ensure you are the actual winner. Questions only the winner would know, such as time and date purchased, did they buy one ticket or 10, will be asked. In California, filing a false claim is a felony.
Claim Form Must be Turned in
"The California Lottery will NOT know who the winner is until someone completes and turns in a claim form, which also requires producing the winning ticket," spokeswoman Carolyn Becker told Newsweek.
That rules out the unidentified tearful woman who appeared at the Las Palmitas Mini Market on Thursday claiming to have purchased the winning ticket and was ostensibly seen struggling to get her head around her win before dramatically rushing out and into a nearby car. While it may be a felony to falsely claim a prize in California, pretending to in front of a bank of cameras is not.
State Taxes on Lottery Winnings
Less a string attached and more a bonus, there is no California state or local tax withholdings on your prize money. Only seven other states—Florida, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming—offer this considerable savings, according to wisevoter.com. Federal taxes still apply, however.
