Setting a new record for one of the highest lottery prizes in history, the Powerball jackpot quickly rose to a steep $1.5 billion.

Unless you buy your ticket in one of only six states that doesn’t require you to come forward — Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio, or South Carolina — good luck staying anonymous. With millions of people entering to win the fortune, it is expected that everyone would be interested in the lucky winner, but should you really be required to publicly come forward and claim your award? Maybe you want a good 15 minutes of fame on every news station in the country, but what about the people who wish to remain under the world’s radar with their cash?

Handing in a winning lottery ticket to any of the remaining 44 states puts your safety at serious risk. Recently, horror stories of people who have won big in the lottery have been revealed to warn others of the harsh reality after winning big.

Abraham Lee Shakespeare, 42, was murdered after scoring a hefty 30 million in Florida in 2006 by Dorris Moore, who is currently serving life in prison without the possibility of parole. Moore admitted her motive was to steal money from Shakespeare, who she knew had tons of it, thanks to the press.

One lottery winning miracle resulting in a death of an innocent person should be all it takes to no longer release a winner’s name to the media, but unfortunately it has taken several lives, and ruined even more. Countless stories of robberies and murders have been reported after winning various jackpots across the country. Winning so much money should be an amazing life-changing event, not heartbreaking and life-taking.

Megan Rosen, Staff Writer

Sophomore Megan Rosen is a staff writer for the 2015-2016 Colonel. She is on the volleyball team.