Here's why no one has to know if you win tonight's billion-dollar jackpot

A convenience store advertises the Mega Millions lottery on October 19, 2018. The jackpot for tonight's drawing has now climbed to $1 billion, making it the largest jackpot in the game's history and the first to top the $1 billion mark.

Credit: Spencer Platt

Credit: Spencer Platt

A convenience store advertises the Mega Millions lottery on October 19, 2018. The jackpot for tonight's drawing has now climbed to $1 billion, making it the largest jackpot in the game's history and the first to top the $1 billion mark.

The big winner of Friday's historic Mega Millions jackpot can use a new Georgia law to keep people from asking for a piece of the money.

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The law saying the winner does not have to give up the winner's name has been on the books in Georgia for only six months.

“I love that law because you have people coming out of the woodwork when you win. Sometime you don't want everybody to know you won,” a Mega Millions player told WSB-TV.

On Friday, lottery officials announced the jackpot jumped to $1 billion.

Since May 7, 74 people have won more than $250,000 in Georgia, and every single one of them has signed a paper to remain anonymous.