The identity of the lucky person who won New Jersey’s massive $847 million Powerball jackpot may never be revealed, due to the state’s privacy laws.
A 2020 Garden State law allows lottery winners to remain anonymous indefinitely — unlike most states that require lottery players to come forward publicly.
The measure was adopted to protect winners from extortion, harassment and pressure to distribute the newly found funds.
Wednesday’s lucky winner hit the jackpot at a Wegman’s in Montvale, an affluent enclave with a median household income of $178,000.
Powerball officials did not say whether a winner had emerged and did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Wednesday’s winner could choose between receiving payments over 29 years or a one-time lump sum payment of $363.1 million – with more than half of the fortune lost to taxes.
Winners who choose to remain anonymous under New Jersey’s 2020 law must still verify their identity privately and pay any unpaid child support, student loans or other government debts before collecting their prize.
A similar proposal that would allow New York lottery winners to remain hidden from the public eye is currently under consideration in Albany.
Nine other states allow privacy for lottery winners regardless of the size of their win, while nine other states allow privacy only above a certain winning threshold, according to a People magazine study.
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