These days it seems like a fair amount of people have been winning the lottery.  I feel like almost every two to three weeks I’m hearing about another lucky person, group, or company that’s made it big off of one of these tickets.  I’m not a gambler myself, but I have to admit this sudden influx of success stories can make it tempting to start.

I bring this up though only because of something I read in an article I came across recently, about a guy who won $1 six times from the lottery.  The point of controversy is that he wanted to keep his identity hidden from the public.  Apparently, some people out there are none too happy with his choice to remain anonymous.

Here’s the snipped from the article that I’m talking about:

The man has said he does not want to be identified, sparking irritation among some who believe that lists of winners should be public records.

In my opinion, I think winners should have the right to remain anonymous.  Perhaps there is a side of this argument that I’m not seeing, but I think the only reason why people would want to know who won is so they can attempt to get in contact with that person and look for a handout of some kind.  I believe in the saying that people like to “come out of the woodwork” when a person (whom they would have never given the light of day otherwise) achieves success or has a lot of money.  Suddenly everyone wants to be that person’s best friend.

So what do you guys think?  Should names of lottery ticket winners be made public information?  Why or why not?  I’d love to hear people’s opinion on this.