Chinese lottery player reportedly wins $30M and hides jackpot from wife and children
‘Mr. Li’ claimed his multimillion-dollar prize in a yellow mascot costume, according to the Guangxi Welfare Lottery
A man in the People's Republic of China has reportedly won a regional lottery, and he’s apparently planning to hide the winnings from his wife and children until he figures out what to do with the jackpot.
The Guangxi Welfare Lottery issued a press release via WeChat – a Chinese instant messaging and mobile payment app – stating the winner claimed his prize anonymously on Oct. 24 under the alias "Mr. Li."
Mr. Li reportedly won 219 million yuan from the Guangxi Welfare Lottery’s grand prize, which is equivalent to around $30 million, according to currency converters.
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Photos attached to the press release show Mr. Li donned a yellow mascot costume that fully hid his face and body when he claimed his prize.
A man from the People's Republic of China reportedly claimed his prize from the Guangxi Welfare Lottery on Oct. 24, while wearing a yellow mascot costume modeled after the lottery center's mascot. Here the man accepts his cash check from Lan Ting, an (Guangxi Welfare Lottery Center / Fox News)
The Guangxi Welfare Lottery noted that the mascot costume Mr. Li wore is named Fudou and represents the Nanning-based lottery.
Mr. Li accepted a cash check from Lan Ting, the secretary and director of the general party branch of the Guangxi Welfare Lottery Issuance Center, according to the press release.
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At the issuance center, Mr. Li reportedly donated 5 million yuan (approximately $689,721.75) to the Guangxi Welfare Lottery Center for public welfare, which he hopes goes to good deeds, such as "helping the elderly, the disabled, the orphans, and the needy," the Guangxi Welfare Lottery reported.
The anonymous lottery winner is apparently going by the alias "Mr. Li." He reportedly made a donation to the Guangxi Welfare Lottery while in costume on Oct. 24, for the betterment of public welfare. (Guangxi Welfare Lottery Center / Fox News)
Mr. Li told the Guangxi Welfare Lottery he hasn’t notified his family or friends about his winnings and is trying to decide what to do with the money.
"I didn't tell my wife and children, because I was afraid that they would be too inflated and would not work or work hard in the future," Mr. Li reportedly said in a statement.
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Mr. Li also said he felt nervous and had trouble sleeping after he learned he won the lottery on Oct. 21, according to the lottery press release. He reportedly drove to Nanning a day later and hunkered down in a hotel because he feared losing his winning tickets – which had the Guangxi Welfare Lottery’s winning numbers "02, 15, 19, 26, 27, 29+02."
The Guangxi Welfare Lottery published copies of what it reported to be Mr. Li’s winning tickets. Mr. Li reportedly purchased three tickets from a Welfare Lottery Betting Station at the Litang Department Store on Oct. 20.
Mr. Li reportedly played three lottery tickets on Oct. 20 and two resulted in major wins, according to the Guangxi Welfare Lottery Center's press release. | Fox News
The three tickets reportedly cost Mr. Li 160 yuan (approximately $22.07) and two of the tickets were 20-fold single-color ball lottery tickets.
Taxes will be taken out of Mr. Li’s winnings and his donation will be deducted, according to the Guangxi Welfare Lottery’s press release.
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The Guangxi Welfare Lottery estimated that Mr. Li’s take-home prize after taxes will amount to nearly 171.5 yuan (approximately $23.6 million).
Chinese yuan is the basic monetary unit of the People's Republic of China. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"There is a lot of chance in winning the lottery, and there is no special rule to follow," the Guangxi Welfare Lottery wrote, in its press release.
"[The] Guangxi Welfare Lottery Center believes that winning the lottery is a good thing, but how to deal with the life after winning the lottery may be more important than winning the lottery itself," the lottery center continued. "Lottery buyers should buy lottery tickets with a normal heart and rationality. Even if they win, they will get windfalls."
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Mr. Li’s reported lottery win has made international headlines as Americans in the U.S. have been playing the Powerball, a multi-state lottery that’s reached a record $2.04 billion.
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The Powerball is offered in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.