Chance of Cashing Out Before Cashing In?

The single winner of the biggest lottery prize in American history to date recently came forward to claim the mega jackpot 5 months after the drawing.

If it were me, I would have been at the lottery office the next business day, to start enjoying my windfall. So, it struck me as really odd that the winner didn't come forward right away, and after a couple of weeks I assumed that the ticket was lost. I haven't seen any explanation for the timing of the claim.

Assuming the delay was by choice, what were the odds the winner, a male at least 18 years old living in rural South Carolina, would not have been able to cash the ticket because he died during the five month stall?

And related: Assuming the winner claimed the cash prize on day 1, kept 1 million in cash and invested the rest in guaranteed to low risk instruments, how much did he lose by waiting to claim the prize?

The biggest issue is staying or becoming anonymous. That's probably why it took so long. I don't think that kind of money can be anonymous, the truth will be discovered unless they're already quite rich or are people that just don't like spending money.

Quote: onenickelmiracle

The biggest issue is staying or becoming anonymous. That's probably why it took so long. I don't think that kind of money can be anonymous, the truth will be discovered unless they're already quite rich or are people that just don't like spending money.

You can get a Lawyer/Trust Fund Representative to claim the ticket anonymously, but even that can backfire on you. A Couple tried to go the Lawyer/Trust Fund Representative route and still had to do a public press conference. They smiled but looked kind of upset, like,"We tried to do the Lawyer/Trust Fund Representative thing for a good reason. Why are we doing a public press conference in the first place? We shouldn't be here at all!"