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David Johnson from Brooklyn, New York, has come forward as the winner of the $298 million Powerball jackpot of December 27^th, 2018. The 56-year-old truck driver quit his job as soon as he found out about his win and he is now ready to take on his much-awaited early retirement.

Quick Pick Luck for Mr. Johnson

Before the big Christmas draw, Mr. Johnson stopped to gas up his truck and he also bought tickets for his lotto-favorite trio – the Powerball, the Mega Millions, and the New York Lotto. All three tickets were Quick Pick and as soon as he got them, he put them out of his mind.

The day after the Powerball draw, he did not check his numbers, not even when a colleague told him that the winning ticket for the big jackpot was sold at that very gas station. “I turned to myself I said, ‘Aw, that’s not me, man. That’s not my luck.'”

It took him another day to scan his ticket, but, much to his surprise, his luck had finally come around. He was the sole winner of the $298 million pot. “I jumped up and down in the store, man,” Mr. Johnson remembers. Then, he just got into his car, turned up the music, and went straight home.

The Powerball Jackpot Aftermath

The first people he told about the Powerball fortune were his wife and daughter. Mrs. Johnson thought he was kidding, and their daughter started crying. Mr. Johnson did not go to work that day, not any day after that. He decided then and there that it was time to retire.

He went to claim his Powerball jackpot on January 2^nd, which left him with a few days during which the Powerball ticket had to be kept extremely safe. The best hiding spot he could think of was a raggedy old jacket that nobody would steal and it worked out perfectly.

On January 26^th, David Johnson attended the press conference for his big jackpot win and he received the traditional giant cheque for the $298 million. He chose the lump sum payout for the prize, which amounted to $180 million. After taxes, this left him with approximately $114 million.

At the age of 56, the Brooklyn truck driver has decided to go straight into retirement. With $114 million in his bank account, Mr. Johnson said “I’m rich. I don’t gotta go to work no more.” The first things on his wish list are a “nice house” and a red Porsche. The Powerball winner also said that he will use the money to take care of his family.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vetoed a bill that would have allowed lottery winners to keep their identities private. As it turns out, lottery winners from New York will still have to go public if they hit the jackpot.

The presentations and sharing of certain information provides comfort to the general public that there was an actual winner, and the State was not simply adding all the money to its own coffers,” wrote Gov. Cuomo in his official veto message.

The issue of staying anonymous after winning the lottery has been raised many times in America in 2018. A New Hampshire winner has managed to keep her identity private after scooping a $560 million jackpot in the US Powerball. This has made more winners hope that they could skip some of the post-jackpot publicity drama.

There are only six US states that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous. These are Maryland, Ohio, South Carolina, Dawahare, Kansas, and North Dakota. If Gov. Cuomo had approved the bill, New York would have become the seventh.

Connecticut, Vermont, Colorado, and Massachusetts allow winners to collect their jackpots anonymously through legal trusts. Along with the six other states, these are the only parts of America where lottery winners can choose whether or not to go public after scooping the first prize.

The most recent jackpot winner from New York, Mr. Robert Bailey won $343 million in the US Powerball. While he took part in the standard publicity event with the giant cheque, he said that he wished he could have stayed anonymous.

After Gov. Cuomo’s vetoing the lottery bill, it looks like the names of jackpot winners from New York will continue to be made public by the state. The New Hampshire winner has created an important precedent for the anonymity issue, but it is going to take much more for this to be implemented country-wise.

Less than a month has passed since US Powerball was delivering its 3^rd biggest jackpot ever. We already know who the two lucky ticket owners are!

Lerynne West from Iowa was the first to claim her half of this enormous prize, which amounted to $198.1 million. On Wednesday, November 14^th, the second winner came forward, claiming his share of the $687.8 million.

Who is the New York winner? His name is Robert Bailey. He is 67 years old and is a retired federal employee. He has been playing with the same set of numbers for 25 years already. “A family member gave me the numbers over 25 years ago and I faithfully play them,” Bailey said.

The day he bought his ticket, he had to rush into the West Harlem Deli because it was pouring outside. It seems that heavy rain had a lucky connotation for Robert.

Annuity or lump sum? Robert decided to go for a lump sum. After taxes, he pocked $125 million.

Why did he get less money than Lerynne? American lottery prizes are subject to two types of taxes: federal and state. As they both decided to cash their prize as a lump sum, the difference comes from state taxes. In Iowa, lottery winners have to pay 5% of the remaining amount after federal taxes. In New York, the taxes amount to 8.82%.

What are his plans? In the press statements he gave during the prize claiming ceremony, Robert talked about buying a house for his mothers, doing some travelling as well as making some hopefully wise investments.

“It’s a good life-changer. I plan to do the right thing with the money,” Bailey said. Will he stick to his plan? Only time will tell.

Does he plan to keep playing? “I will continue to playing my numbers until this train runs out.” These were the winner’s words!

Want to walk into Robert & Lerynne’s footsteps? There is only one way! Get your lucky numbers ready and grab your Powerball ticket right now!