Lottery winner dons mascot costume to hide jackpot from family

Nov. 3 (UPI) -- A lottery winner in China donned a mascot costume to claim his $30.6 million lottery jackpot in order to keep his wife and children from finding out about the prize.

The Guangxi Welfare Lottery said the man, identified only by the pseudonym Li, said he has been playing the lottery for about 10 years and normally uses the numbers 02-15-19-26-27-29-02.

The man recently spent $11 to buy 40 tickets bearing his lucky numbers for the same drawing, and each ticket ended up winning $765,000, for a total of about $30.6 million.

Li showed up to collect his prize wearing a bright yellow cartoon mascot costume. He said he wanted to keep his jackpot a secret from his family.

"I have not told my wife or children. I am concerned that they might feel superior to other people and will not work or study hard in future," Li told lottery officials.

Li donated some of his winnings to a lottery fund that supports vulnerable communities in China. He said he does not yet have plans for the rest of the money.