Temporary anonymity period is up
By Kate Northrop
The winner of the $1.6 billion Mega Millions lottery jackpot has been revealed following the 90-day grace period of anonymity given to lottery winners in Florida.
The winner of the third-largest lottery jackpot in history, a $1.6 billion Mega Millions jackpot drawn on Tues., Aug. 8, 2023, was won by a single ticket in Florida. Whoever claimed it had 90 days of anonymity before the Florida Lottery would release their name.
Today, the Florida Lottery revealed that the prize was claimed under Saltines Holdings LLC, which is based in Miami. Winners in Florida may claim prizes of $250,000 and over under an LLC or trust, but there is a temporary anonymity period of 90 days before that information is released to the public or subject to public records request.
Lottery Post maintains a complete list of lottery winner anonymity laws state-by-state (as well as several other countries).
That lucky winner had other lottery players waiting on the edge of their seat to see whether they would claim the prize as an annuity or the cash option — they had waited just a week before the 60-day deadline for claiming the cash option to come forward.
However, the Lottery declined to say how this person claimed the prize, but it was revealed alongside the LLC name that they had elected to take the cash option.
The winner's Quick Pick ticket was purchased at the Publix grocery store on Atlantic Boulevard in Neptune Beach. Their ticket had matched all winning numbers to scoop up the billion-dollar jackpot, which were 13, 19, 20, 32, and 33, with Mega Ball 14.
According to USA Mega's Mega Millions Jackpot Analysis, after all taxes are paid, the winner would have received $500.38 million. Because Florida has no state taxes on lottery prizes, the winner only has federal taxes to worry about.
This is the fourth Mega Millions winner in Florida, and the largest jackpot in the game's history.
The Mega Millions jackpot currently stands at $92 million for the next drawing on Fri., Dec. 29 at 11:00 pm Eastern Time.
Mega Millions is currently offered for sale in 45 states, plus Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are Tuesdays and Fridays at 11:00 pm Eastern Time. Tickets cost $2 each.
The Mega Millions winning numbers are published at USA Mega (www.usamega.com) minutes after the drawing takes place.
my curiosity is always where the ticket was purchased and how old the person is. Other than that IDC.
Todd/Kate----waiting for your listing of the $700 Powerball drawing tonight. Always enjoy those articles secondary to feel good stories!
So the state lottery is only releasing the trust name and not the name of the winner? If so, we need to add that option to the state anonymity list. Wins over 250k that are claimed via a trust will not have the winner's name released (unless there is a public records request?)
According to online public records,
https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchResultDetail?inquirytype=EntityName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=SALTINES%20L230005398370&aggregateId=flal-l23000539837-4ee54e73-628d-43c3-ba93-14251a13c78e&searchTerm=Saltines%20LLC&listNameOrder=SALTINES%20L230005398370
it looks to be ALBERTO GUGLIELMI
Glad they got their money. LLCs provide some level of privacy. Hopefully they've gotten out of town before anyone figures out who they are!
Powerball is starting to get up there at $700million. Maybe there will be a big winner New Year's Day.
Won in Neptune Beach but claimed by a LLC in Miami? If that ain't suspicious. One week before the cash deadline. Would the trustee be Eddie Lipton by chance? Should be required to do a press conference like other states for transparency.
Congrats!
Congrats to the winner(s) whoever he/she/they are.
I have it on bad authority that the winner is a hot dog afficienado . ... I betcha the winner will splurge and buy grey poupon mustard from now on.
I also hear the winner/s love pierogi with bratwurst every 2nd Thursday of each month.
Hmmm might the winner be of polish descent?
And I hear they feed there dog Alpo ...... I betcha Fido will be served filet mignon or porterhouse from now on.
And the winner is bald but tame and friendly thank goodness.
Interesting. The registered agent may or may not be the actual winner. If Florida allows one to designate anyone as a registered agent, then 100% anonymity would be possible for wins over a certain amount.
Not necessarily. I looked up the address in Miami and it's an office suite that has mail forwarding services. Google the address and you will see what I mean.
I think he's trying to obscure his location to keep away the opportunists. He could be anywhere in the world by now.
In Louisiana, if an entity is used to claim a prize all those eligible must be on the paperwork as members. Using a LLC gives a layer of privacy, but isn't totally private.
Hey, does Louisiana cut separate checks for group members? CA, IN and KY do but don't know about other states.
I wish I could remember where I very recently read this, but unfortunately I cant.
What I read was a news report that stated the winner used an LLC registered in Delaware, not Florida. The reason given for registering in Delaware was stated as "Delaware will not release the names of members of an LLC registered in Delaware, but Florida will release the names."....
So what the LLC in Miami is all about I do not know.
I do recall that it was a Florida TV station's website where the above was reported, but I've no idea which one it was. I'm going to do some Googling to try to find the news article. G5
https://patch.com/florida/jacksonville/group-claims-record-breaking-1-6b-mega-millions-prize-fl-lottery
The link for news article above has in it the following text...
"By claiming the prize using a corporation, the Mega Millions winner does not have to reveal their identity, WFLA reported. In Florida, the name of the owner of an LLC is a matter of public record, but the winner of the jackpot filed the LLC in Delaware, a state where the owner of an LLC is not public."
G5