First time a Somerville guy wins $25 million recently in a lottery game

The Massachusetts State Lottery just awarded its largest-ever prize for an instant “scratch and win” game to Simmons & Schiavo Lottery Trust 2023-28 of Woburn.

Trustee Marco Schiavo claimed the $25 million grand prize for the “Billion Dollar Extravaganza,” a $50 scratch-off game, on Tuesday on behalf of his client.

It’s not uncommon for big lottery winners to collect their prize money in the name of a trust in order to keep their identities secret.

The Massachusetts Lottery requires winners to be photographed when they collect their winnings, so to avoid unwelcome publicity, some opt to create a trust and send a trustee to collect the payout in their place.

Schiavo, the trustee in this case, said his client plans to use their winnings on real estate and other investments.

They chose a one-time cash payment on their prize, receiving $16,250,000 before taxes. With one $25 million grand prize in the “Billion Dollar Extravaganza” game off the table, there are two left.