Powerball winner confirms: I do want that $337 million

It took a week, but the winner of the $337-million Powerball jackpot has reached out to the Michigan Lottery.

It’s the third-largest prize in Powerball history, the lottery says, and no date has been scheduled yet for the winner to come forward to claim it.

Non-winners may wonder: What are you waiting for?!

There’s the media frenzy, the long-lost greedy relatives and the host of financial decisions a winner faces, to name a few.

“This is an extraordinary amount of money,� said Michigan Lottery public relations director Andi Brancato in an interview Wednesday morning with the Los Angeles Times.

“It is not unusual for people to take a week or 10 days to get things together, take a deep breath, talk to a financial advisor.�

For the state lottery in Michigan, the winner can choose to remain anonymous. But that’s not an option for multi-state lotteries Powerball and Mega-Millions, Brancato said.

So the winner will have to step forward within a year of the Aug. 15 drawing. Until then, the lottery isn’t releasing any details -- and wheedling doesn’t work. The lottery won’t even let on whether it’s a single winner or a group.

When the winner or winners do step forward, they’ll probably still be addled.

“It is all so overwhelming for people,� Brancato said. “They’re sort of at a loss on a lot of fronts. ... It’s really hard to grasp what has happened to you.�

The folks at Michigan Lottery have seen their share of dazed looks. But they try to set new winners on the right road.

“When we hear from a winner, certainly with a prize of this magnitude, we always suggest they might want to talk to a financial advisor or an accountant.�

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