Published: January 12, 2008 10:16 pm         

Column: Powerball winner outed

RICHMOND, Ky. — “You want to take your mama out all night and show her what it’s all about.”

— Scissor Sisters



Linville Lee Huff of Bullitt County, Ky., was outed.

The outing had nothing to do with his personal life. He wanted to be a closet Powerball winner, but is now a public figure.

Mr. Huff was the winner of the Dec. 12, Powerball Jackpot. He claimed the cash option of $16.8 million.

Mr. Huff had requested to the Kentucky Lottery that his winning ticket remain anonymous. Instead, Mr. Huff’s name was obtained by The (Louisville) Courier-Journal and published after The Courier-Journal made an open records request.

Linville Lee Huff will be forever be known as Linville Huff, Powerball winner.

Mr. Huff had good intentions about keeping his winnings quiet. He implemented those intentions poorly.

When the initial story broke about a Powerball winner asking to stay anonymous, people contacted me and said, “Whoever won the lottery must have read your book.”

I just published a book called: “Son of a Son of A Gambler: Winners, Losers and What To Do When You Win the Lottery.”

I tell people to protect to use trusts and corporations to protect their privacy.

Mr. Huff didn’t make it to my book signings.

I wish Mr. Huff had read my book. He would be enjoying his new fortune in private. He needed to find an attorney before rushing to cash the winning ticket.

A man who just got $16.8 million should have spent some of that cash on good legal advice. Any sudden millionaire, Powerball winner or not, needs to bring in expert advisors.

Mr. Huff could have avoided the mad rush of friends, strangers, charities and freeloaders looking for a piece of his money.

After The Courier-Journal disclosed Mr. Huff’s name, some readers took umbrage with the newspaper. It was not The Courier Journal’s duty to help Mr. Huff protect his identity. They are not in the business of providing free legal advice to lottery millionaires.

The Courier-Journal is a news-gathering organization. Mr. Huff’s identity was news. Huff did not take proper steps to protect his identity.

I wish all lottery winners wanted to stay out of the newspapers. Too many preen for the cameras, waving the check like they won a game show.

Mr. Huff needed to do more than to orally state his preference. He needed to set up a trust or corporation.

A lottery winner who purchased a 2006 ticket near Cincinnati won a $148.1 Powerball. The winner (or winners) set up a trust and a bank trust officer cashed the ticket. We don’t know who received the money.

As a test, I went to extensive lengths to see if I could identify the winner. I couldn’t. The trust and trust officers did their job.

I wish Mr. Huff had found an attorney to plan and draft the proper documents. Legal instruments and legal documents are important. That is why we have them.

If someone wants their third cousin to get their car at death, they need to have a will. If they die without a will, state law will dictate how assets are divided.

Third cousins don’t make the list.

Families often battle when a family member dies without a will. I’ve seen it too often. When I die, I have a will, trust and definite intentions for who gets what.

If my third cousin wants my car, he had better start sucking up now.

I’ve always offered lottery winners three tips: 1. Never let anyone know you have won. 2. Seek advisors before you cash a ticket. 3. Take the payments annually instead of the cash option.

Huff did not follow any of the three rules. Powerball winners such as Jack Whittaker and David Edwards have done things that that make Britney Spears’s life look normal. They have blown through millions and lived shattered lives.

It has been said that more than 90 percent of lottery winners blow through their money. I hope Mr. Huff is not one of them.

It wasn’t his mama who took Mr. Huff into the limelight. It was his failure to seek proper advice.



Don McNay writes for the Richmond (Ky.) Register.