News writer
A lucky Massachusetts Lottery player recently claimed the second-largest jackpot win of the year for the state, winning $15 million.
An anonymous win
The big win came on the lottery's $15,000,000 Money Maker game, which was released on April 19, 2022. After this winner claimed their prize, there is still one $15 million grand prize remaining to be claimed.
The winning ticket was purchased at One Stop Mart, located at 337 Boston Street in Lynn. For selling the winning ticket, the store will receive a $50,000 bonus from the state lottery.
The lucky winner, who was able to get their big check without releasing their name, chose to claim their prize through a trust called the K & K Trust of Waltham.
On Thursday, August 15, trustee Leo Cushing went to the lottery headquarters and claimed the prize for the winner. With a choice between taking the winnings in annuity payments or one lump-sum payment, Cushing opted for the lump-sum cash option and received a one-time payment of $9.75 million before taxes.
Cushing told lottery officials that the winner is planning on helping their kids and family with the prize.
How does a player get to remain anonymous?
In the state of Massachusetts, winning lottery players are not allowed to remain anonymous when they win a big prize. However, it can still happen with this workaround.
The Massachusetts Lottery will allow winners to create a trust. Then a trustee is able to turn in the winning ticket, receive a check and then deposit it into a bank account set up for the beneficiary.
Mark William Bracken, Executive Director of the Massachusetts State Lottery, told MassLive, “Prizes can be claimed by a trust or other legal entities that fulfill the definition of a legal person.”
Bracken added, “The identity of the trustee or legal representative is made public. Over the last several years, we have seen an increase in the number of large prizes claimed by trusts.”
Big winners in 2024
With K & K Trust winning this $15 million prize, it tied with another $15 million prize claimed in June as the second-highest prize claimed in Massachusetts so far in 2024. That winner also opted for the one-time cash payment of $9.75 million before taxes.
In 2024, the largest prize won in the state so far was a $1 million a year for life prize. That winner also opted to receive a one-time payment of $15.4 million.
Unclaimed prizes
The Massachusetts Lottery also recently announced that two $100,000 Mass Cash prizes and one $50,000 Powerball prize won on tickets sold in the state for drawings that took place in September 2023 have not been claimed yet and are about to expire.
The details for the winning tickets are here:
- $100,000 Mass Cash winner - Ticket purchased at A&A Gas Express, located at 820 High St. in Holyoke, for the September 4, 2023, drawing. The winning numbers were 1, 15, 22, 27, and 32.
- $50,000 Powerball winner - Ticket purchased at Rt 99 Smoke Shop, located at 893 Broadway in Everett, for the September 6, 2023, drawing. The winning white ball numbers were 9, 14, 20, 23, and 63, with the Powerball number being 1.
- $100,000 Mass Cash winner - Ticket purchased at Sunoco, located at 545 Harvard St. in Brookline, for the September 12, 2023, drawing. The winning numbers were 3, 12, 14, 18, and 25.
Winners in Mass Cash and Powerball have one year from the date of the drawing to claim their prizes. If the prize expires, then it becomes part of the net profit that the state lottery returns to the Commonwealth for distribution to all 351 cities and towns.
Enjoy playing the Massachusetts Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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