CLEVELAND — The person (or persons) who bought the winning ticket in last month's $252.6 million Powerball jackpot at a Summit County gas station has chosen to to remain anonymous, officially claiming the prize Wednesday without revealing any names.
According to the Ohio Lottery, the claimant has only been listed as the "Crazy Luck Trust," with Akron-based attorney John K. Krajewski being listed as the trustee. Rather than take the full prize over a 30-year period, the winner chose the $134.7 million cash option, which will amount to roughly $96.96 million after state and local taxes are paid.
The winning ticket was sold April 19 at the GetGo on Highland Road in Macedonia, and marks the fifth-largest jackpot prize in Ohio history. It's also the first Powerball jackpot the state has seen since 2014, when the top ticket was sold at truenorth in Conneaut.
As a reward for producing the winning numbers, the Ohio Lottery rewarded the Summit County GetGo with a $100,000 bonus check. To celebrate, the gas station and café also gave away free tater tots to customers.
Officials say the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are just under one in 300 million, and Ohio is one of the few states in the Union where winners can remain anonymous. The next drawing takes place tonight at 11 p.m. for a top prize of $146 million.
Besides the Powerball, there have been several other recent big lottery winners in Northeast Ohio during the last month:
- Mega Millions winner gets a $1 million prize after buying the lucky ticket from a Circle K in Berea for the drawing on Tuesday, April 18.
- Lucky For Life winner hits the second-tier prize that pays out $25,000 a year for life in the drawing held on Wednesday, April 26. The lucky ticket was purchased at East End Express in Hubbard.
- Make My Year scratch-off winner gets $2.5 million grand prize after purchasing their ticket at a GetGo in Alliance on Friday, April 18.
- Ohio Bonus Cash scratch-off winner gets $1 million grand prize after buying their ticket from Down on Main in Leetonia on Tuesday, May 16.