$337 million Powerball Winner To Be Named Friday 31st August 2012 - UPDATED
Wednesday August 29th 2012The winner of the third biggest Powerball draw in the history of the lottery has come forward to claim his or her prize of $337 million, according to lottery officials. The winner came forward on Wednesday of last week, and although officials have not yet confirmed the status of the ticketholder, it is understood that there will be a press conference in Lansing at 11.30am EDT where the name and identity of the winner is to be announced.
For the sleepy town of Lapeer, Michigan, this has been an exciting time, with news vans and reporters lining the streets of the gas station where the winning ticket was sold. According to US state law, the winner of the Powerball has to declare themselves publicly, unlike in some other lotteries where the jackpot winners have a choice. This is to keep the game transparent and show that prizes are indeed going to winners. This can often by why winners of the Powerball lottery can often take several weeks to be named, as they discuss publicity, financial arrangements and tax issues with lottery officials and financial advisers.
Another issue which will need to be taken into account is how the winner should deal with requests for money. It is expected that this winner, who can opt to receive the winning funds either in one single payout of $240 million (pre-tax) or in instalments, will receive numerous requests for money and financial assistance, and it is vital that the new millionaire has considered how to deal with these matters.
Whilst we wait for the winners details to be announced, we turn our attention to the current Powerball jackpot, which has rolled over all three draws since this big win to create an estimated jackpot for the next draw tonight, Wednesday 29th August 2012 of $70 million. Visit our Powerball Results page for the recent draw history.
Update: The winner has been named as Donald Lawson, a 44 year olf railway engineer and father of two originally from Arkansas. Lawson decided to take the single payout, which equated to $158 million after tax, and joked that he was "pretty p***ed at Uncle Sam right now". The first thing he did after winning was to call his boss and take early retirement, and he now plans to spend time with his family, travel around and enjoy his money. However, he insists the money won't change him, and states he will still go to McDonalds and live the simple life, as he isn't a "fillet mignon and lobster kinda guy".
Congratulations Donald, from us at Lottery.net.