Society
32-million-yuan lottery winner says family unaware
(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-02 07:19
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CHANGCHUN - A man who won a whopping 32-million-yuan ($4.57 million) lottery jackpot in Northeast China's Jilin province collected his prize on Wednesday.
According to witnesses, the man came to the lottery office, 11 days after hitting the jackpot, wearing a dark colored hooded coat, a black hat, a face mask and a pair of sunglasses.
He refused to reveal his name, his occupation or his address, and said that even his family does not know he had won the lottery.
The man took away with him 25.67 million yuan after tax, the highest amount ever won in a lottery in Jilin province, local newspaper New Culture Post reported on Thursday.
Staff at the Changchun lottery center said the 50-year-old man was "the calmest winner" they had ever come across, even though they couldn't see much of his face. A staff member said most winners claim their prize within a week, but the 50-year-old showed up after 11 days, and "did not shake hands with any of the staff members".
The man said he has no plans to buy a car or a house, and is not even thinking about quitting his current job.
According to lottery officials, most winners cover their faces when they claim their prizes to avoid unnecessary media attention.
The latest winner's attire has aroused a wide discussion among China's Internet users, with many of them comparing Chinese winners with lottery-lucky foreigners, who pose and smile for photographs while claiming their prize.
"It is a kind of art to claim lottery winnings in China," wrote a netizen, who goes by the pseudo name "Mars".
A man who recently won 5 million yuan in a lottery in Guizhou province claimed his prize wearing a Batman costume, which netizens hailed as "the most creative podium-wear".
China Daily
