Who won the Arizona half of the $588 million Powerball jackpot on Wednesday is still a mystery.
But we can tell you who didn't win:
Nolan Daniels and Paul Horner.
Those two names sprang from the Internet today as millions of jealous people, plus every major news outlet in the country (if not the world), awaited word on the mysterious winner who hasn't come forward yet, but bought his or her ticket in Fountain Hills.
Daniels may be the real name of a real Facebook user, but he's an obvious faker.
Twenty-one hours ago, "Daniels" put a picture of his grinning, bearded face on a Facebook account , holding up a lottery ticket with the winning numbers and typing this amusing caption:
"Looks like I won't be going to work EVER!!!! Share this photo and I will give a random person 1 million dollars!"
The entry was followed by a couple-dozen messages, some which read as if they're from Daniels' real friends, before the commenting was shut down.
Optimistic or just entertained, Facebook users have shared this post 524,000 times at last check. Looks like it's gaining shares at the brisk pace of about 10,000 per minute.
Daniels has pulled off a fantastic public-relations coup, but nothing about his announcement rings true -- especially the blatant call for Facebook shares. And the fact that the lottery post seems to be the only thing Daniels has ever posted on the account.
Then there's the cute story of Paul Horner that was published on a joke news site that could be found credible only by the Iranian news corp.
Horner reportedly showed up at the Lottery office this morning, reeking of malt liquor and marijuana and smiling from "ear-to-ear."
The story included this shocking information from a purported witness at the lottery office:
"I heard one of the employees ask Mr. Horner if he was going to have a $500 million crack party, just like that one episode from the Chappelle Show. I didn't think that was very nice or funny whatsoever."
Meanwhile, an unidentified man in Maryland is still considered a good bet for the real Powerball winner. He was caught on surveillance cameras showing other people the "winning" ticket. But he still hasn't claimed his prize.
A Missouri couple has been identified as one of the two Powerball jackpot winners.
Arizona Lottery officials were swamped with news media calls all day. Trust us -- when the real winner comes forward, you'll hear all about it.
