The man, who identified himself only as A. Campbell, fell sick as soon as he found out that he had won the Super Lotto in Jamaica back in November. He revealed to reporters that he is still shocked by his win and that he decided to disguise himself wearing the mask of the villain from the horror movie franchise Scream because he was afraid of money-hungry relatives.
He was asked, "I understand you're still not feeling well right now, is that true?" to which he responded, "I'm kinda OK, I'm just a bit numb, a little bit," as he picked up his check at Spanish Court Hotel in Kingston at a handover ceremony. It took him 54 days to finally pick up his winnings because he fell ill on November 23, 2018, the day he discovered he had hit the jackpot. He is only the fourth person to have ever won the Super Lotto in the country.
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Campbell revealed that he purchased the winning ticket for $200. "I found out (I won) the same night," he said. "Normally, I would write down the numbers from the [televised] draw, eat and then go and check my numbers. I looked at my ticket (that night) and ran into my bathroom and said: 'I won! I won!'" Despite taking so long to come forward and claim his prize, he's already decided what to do with the money.
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"I want to get a nice house," Campbell revealed. "I haven't found it yet, but I'll be looking for one soon. I like to handle money. I don't beg, I don't borrow. So I'm looking at things that can turn over the money." He's thinking of investing the money into expanding the business he currently runs to grow it. "I have a little business, so I plan to make it bigger, buy an apartment," he said. "I love to have money."
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Interestingly, Campbell is not the first lottery winner from Jamaica to hide his identity. Last June, a woman identified only as N Gray, wore a huge emoji mask to hide her identity as she came forward to collect her winnings from the May 11 Super Lotto in 2018. Inside Edition reported that she planned to use the winnings to bail herself out of her debt and invest it in a community center for the youth in her community.
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She, too, hid her face to protect herself from greedy relatives and even criminals. The news outlet revealed that the practice of wearing a disguise to collect lottery winnings is common in Jamaica because people are afraid of becoming the target of criminals and also being harassed by gold-digging family members, friends, and acquaintances.
