Holder of $136M Powerball ticket wants to remain anonymous

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The holder of a Powerball ticket worth more than $136 million has contacted the West Virginia lottery but doesn’t want their identity revealed, a lottery official said Wednesday.

The ticket that was sold at a convenience store in Hinton was the only winning ticket in the country to match all six numbers drawn June 3.

Assistant lottery director Randy Burnside said the winner contacted the lottery but has not yet claimed the prize. The person wishes to remain anonymous, he said.

Once the prize is claimed, the winner can either take annual payments over 29 years or the cash option of $108 million.

It was the ninth grand-prize Powerball ticket sold in West Virginia and the first since 2010.

Among the other jackpot winners was Jack Whittaker, a West Virginia contractor who won a nearly $315 million Powerball jackpot in 2002. At the time it was the largest U.S. lottery jackpot won by a single ticket. Whittaker quickly fell victim to scandals, lawsuits and personal setbacks.

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