Winner claims prize anonymously under a trust

By Kate Northrop

The Maine Lottery announced this week the lone winning ticket-holder of the $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot drawn in January has come forward.

As of Tuesday, the $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot drawn on Jan., 13, the fourth-largest lottery jackpot in history, has been claimed.

The lucky lottery winner might be the richest person in Maine right now (or perhaps a neighboring state). They turned a date that is typically associated with bad luck — Friday the 13th — into the luckiest day of their life.  (See Lottery Post's Weekly Roundup episode discussing the Maine winning ticket.)

But we will likely never know who they are.

According to state officials, the winner had the option of coming forward in person with the winning ticket or remaining anonymous through a trust. The winner decided to claim their prize under a trust to keep their identity hidden.

"The winner is thoughtfully considering the best uses of the life-changing prize," a representative said on behalf of the winner in a statement.

The representative visited Lottery headquarters in Augusta on Friday to have the winning ticket validated. The wire transfer of the money will take place before the end of the week, Deputy Director of Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages & Lottery Operation Michael Boardman said. The company that will receive the money was incorporated in Las Vegas.

"I understand why someone would want to remain anonymous with this kind of money," he related. "We wish them well and hope they do good things with it."

Having claimed the jackpot under the limited liability company LaKoma Island Investments LLC, the winner chose to take home the one-time lump sum payment of $723.56 million.

By accepting the cash payout, the winner will receive more than $498 million after taxes, Boardman added, and that taxes in the amount of $173.6 million will go to federal government and $51 million to the state.

Although Boardman's statement after the after-tax payout is technically true, it is not the winner's entire tax bill. According to USA Mega's Mega Millions Jackpot Analysis, after all taxes are paid, the winner will receive a $404.1 million net payout.

At the time a prize is paid out to a winner, the lottery withholds 24% in federal taxes from the prize — the amount that Boardman described in his statement about the tax withholding. However, the winner still owes an additional 13% paid directly to the IRS after receiving their prize, bringing the total federal tax bill to 37%, or $267.6 million. So in actuality, the winner will pay an additional $94 million in federal taxes from their $498 million "after tax" payout.

Maine has a 7.15% state tax rate, which is accounted for Boardman's numbers. It is only the additional federal portion that he neglected to mention.

Hometown Gas & Grill in Lebanon, the retailer that sold the winning ticket, received a $50,000 bonus. Store owner Fred Cotreau shared half of the commission with his employees. He says he still doesn't know who the winner is.

"We're going to wait and see if it's a local," Cotreau said. "Who knows? Sometimes they come to the store and say thank you, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it."