INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana man who won last month’s $435.3 million Powerball jackpot has chosen to remain anonymous, collecting the 10th largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history through a limited liability corporation, officials said Monday.
A lump sum of $189.1 million, after federal and state taxes are withheld, will be paid to the LLC set up on behalf of the winner, Hoosier Lottery director Sarah Taylor said at news conference.
The winner bought five tickets at a convenience store in his hometown of Lafayette on the day of the Feb. 22 drawing, said Jennifer Dzwonar, an Indianapolis public relations official who spoke on behalf of the winner.
When he realized he had won, the Purdue University graduate couldn’t sleep. The most he’d ever won in the past was $100 from a scratch-off ticket.
He called his dad, who joked, “I thought you were calling to tell me you won the lottery.”
The winner replied, “Maybe I did,” before showing up in person at his dad’s house with a copy of the ticket and his favorite spiced jellybeans.
The winner plans to give some of the money to his family to help pay for their education, Dzwonar said. He is also considering pursuing an advanced degree and buying a new car and home.
For now, he plans to remain in Indiana. He works at a Lafayette manufacturing facility and considers the city his home, though he isn’t originally from there.
The $435.3 million prize, sold at a Super-Test Mini Mart, is the second-largest ever sold in Indiana.
A central Indiana couple won a Mega Millions jackpot worth $536 million last July and remained anonymous by collecting the money through an LLC.
State law allows jackpot prizes to be claimed by a limited liability corporation or legal trust, enabling winners to remain anonymous.
Indiana leads the nation in Powerball jackpot wins, with 39, according to the Hoosier Lottery. It’s played in 44 states, plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
