Check your ticket if you played the Jumbo Bucks Lottery last week, because the winner of the $3.8 million lottery ticket still has not come forward to claim their prize.
WMAZ set out to verify -- can Georgia Lottery winners remain anonymous? To find the answer, Kasandra Ortiz spoke to the game makers themselves. Tandi Reddick with the Georgia Lottery Corporation helped us get straight to the answer.
Imagine walking out of ABC Food Mart on Martin Luther King Boulevard with a lottery ticket, only to later realize you have won big.
"I'm just thinking I would've loved for it to me be,” says customer Roosevelt Sampson.
The multimillion-dollar Jumbo Bucks lottery winner still has not come forward, but some say they have an idea who it may be.
"I probably see him every day, so it just depends on when they're willing to step forward and announce that they're the winners. I guess until then, it remains a mystery,” says another customer Anthony Johnson.
Although many would prefer to keep their winnings a secret, the Georgia Lottery Corporation says that is not an option.
"Someone's going to find out anyway, so you know it's going to circulate to who has won, so I don't think it would be a big secret,” explains Johnson.
This is not the first time someone has won at the ABC Food Mart. They have the amount won, the game played, and the date it was won posted on the wall, so far the highest amount won at that store was $5,000.
According to the Georgia Lottery Corporation, it is required to release basic information of the winners like their name, city of resident, game won and amount won, taking away the option of any anonymity.
"Eventually, someone will find out about it, so why be anonymous?” says Sampson.
WMAZ was able verify that it is false. Georgia Lottery winners cannot remain anonymous. According to the Georgia Lottery Corporation, Jumbo Bucks Lotto winners have 180 days from the draw date to claim the money.
Last year, a Georgia legislator proposed a bill that would let lottery winners stay anonymous, but would reduce the size of their jackpot by 25 percent. That bill did not clear the general assembly.
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VERIFY Source:
Tandi Reddick, Georgia Lottery Corporation