Jillian Ellison

jeellison@jconline.com

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.— While residents of Greater Lafayette have been keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of who the recent $435.3 million Powerball winner is, they shouldn't expect to find out who the lucky winner was any time soon.

Jennifer Dzwonar, a representative of the Powerball winner from Borshoff public relations, said the winner wishes to remain anonymous, but confirmed he is a resident of the Greater Lafayette area.

"We can tell you that he is a Purdue grad who works at a Lafayette manufacturing plant," Dzwonar said. "This is a dream come true for the winner, and he wishes to thank the Hoosier Lottery and Powerball. He is also grateful to his wonderful family and the Greater Lafayette community."

Dzwonar said those who know his identity are very few, but said he is a middle-aged man who has lived in the area for roughly 10 years and considers Lafayette home.

"The winner is very family oriented and close to his siblings and parents," she said. "He plans to give some money to family to help family members pay for their education and maybe earn an advance degree himself. He anticipates making donations to charity, but he has made no decisions at this time."

Dzwonar said spurred by the excitement of a large Powerball jackpot, the winner bought his ticket on the day of the drawing.

"He occasionally bought a few tickets on his way to work, and on that day, he paid $10 for five quick picks at $2 each," she said.

Early the next morning, after working his shift and going to the store, Dzwonar said the winner returned home to check the Powerball numbers on the Hoosier Lottery website. Noticing the jackpot was hit in Indiana, he went to his car to retrieve his tickets.

"He remembered the Powerball was 2 and he had hit 2 on one of the tickets," Dzwonar said. "So he checked the numbers online, searched his ticket, stopped, reread the ticket several times and was stunned to realize he won."

Sarah Taylor, executive director of the Hoosier Lottery, said the winner, after deciding to take the lump sum of $263.5 million, will ultimately walk away with $189.1 million after federal and state taxes are withheld.

Dzwonar said for now, the winner has not decided if he will keep his job or not.

"We know there are lots of rumors going around Lafayette," she said. "He has thought about it a lot, and thought about that it is possible that his job could be used by someone else who maybe needs it more than he does at this point."

Contact J&C families and education reporter Jillian Ellison at jeellison@jconline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JCellison_.