A man in China who won 219 million yuan ($30 million) in a lottery decided to keep it a secret from his wife and children because he feared that the news of him winning the jackpot will make his family lazy. To protect his anonymity, the man not only used a pseudonym but also collected the prize wearing a costume.
Nanning evening news reported that choosing to use the pseudonym ‘Li’, the man was dressed in a yellow cartoon costume to claim his lottery money at the lottery office in Nanning, a city located in the southern region of Guangxi.
Expressing his happiness in winning the jackpot, Li stressed that he preferred to keep the news hidden from his wife and children. Speaking to Nanning Evening News, Li said, “I didn’t tell my wife and child for fear that they would be too complacent and would not work or work hard in the future.”
A day after the man realised that he won the lottery, he drove to the city and decided to sleep in a hotel. He said, “I only slept in a hotel because I was afraid to go out and lose the lottery ticket.”
The Nanning news reported that the Chinese man donated 5 million yuan (over Rs 5.66 Cr) to charity and had not decided what to do with the rest. He bought the lottery tickets at a shop in Litang located just east of the capital region of Nanning.
China’s central government runs lotteries to raise money for welfare and other initiatives. Nanning Evening News reported that players in Guanxi pick six numbers. The man said that his winning numbers were ones that he has been playing for years, i.e 2, 15, 19, 26, 27, 29.
