Winner of $95M Lotto jackpot claims prize anonymously under New Jersey-based partnership
AUSTIN — The lone winning ticket buyer for the $95 million Lotto jackpot that hit in April came forward this week as a partnership entity based in New Jersey, the Texas Lottery Commission confirmed Friday.
The ticketholder on Wednesday claimed the cash value of the prize, which comes to $57.8 million before taxes, under the name Rook TX LP. A spokesman for the lottery said the entity is based in Scotch Plains, N.J., which is about 25 miles from the Empire State Building in New York City.
A search of business names filed with the New Jersey Secretary of State's Office found no listing for Rook TX LP, but Lotto winners often establish such entities at the time they claim their prize money.
Under a state law enacted in 2015, winners of lottery prizes in Texas worth $1 million or more may remain anonymous to avoid publicity.
The winning jackpot of the April 22 drawing generated controversy when the owner of the retail outlet in the Fort Worth suburb of Colleyville that sold the ticket told the USA TODAY Network the buyer had purchased about $11 million worth of tickets during an in-person cash transaction.
The store, tucked away in a strip mall, is called Hooked On Montana and is a fishing tour-booking company that only recently had become a licensed lottery retailer.
It is also among a handful of ticket brokers operating in Texas called courier companies that allow lottery players to place online orders, which are filled with in-person purchases and held by the company. Purchasers are told what numbers were purchased on their behalf.
Although Hooked on Montana is a courier company, the winning ticket was not brokered online.
Some lottery watchdogs and several lawmakers have said the courier companies appear to be skirting at least the spirit, and perhaps the letter of the law governing the lottery that prohibits using the telephone to buy and sell tickets. The law dates to 1991, well before the internet took root.
A provision in the recently passed state budget that takes effect Sept. 1 makes clear that lottery tickets can only be sold during a face-to-face purchase inside a licensed retail establishment.
Gary Grief, the Texas lottery's executive director, said in an interview in May that bulk ticket purchases, generally through courier companies are not uncommon in states that operate lotteries across the country when jackpots soar to levels like the one in Texas did in April.
A Texas Lotto ticket costs $1 and the game has 25.8 million possible combination of numbers, meaning that in theory, someone with near unlimited means could purchase every possible combination when the jackpots are sky high.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: $95M Texas Lotto winner claims prize as a New Jersey-based partnership
