‘Shocked and Delighted’: Winner of California’s Historic $2 Billion Powerball Jackpot Takes the Lead

There is finally an answer to the $2 billion question first raised over three months ago when someone walked out of a gas station in Southern California with a historic lottery ticket.

The California Lottery announced Monday that the winner of the record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot has been named Edwin Castro by state lottery officials. No other details about the winner have been announced yet.

Castro, who bought the ticket at the Joe service center in Altadena, was publicly identified by the lottery on Tuesday at a press conference but did not attend the event. According to the lottery, Castro respectfully refused to participate in media interviews or appear in public.

A Castro’s statement was read at the press conference.

“As shocked and delighted as I am to have won the Powerball, the real winner is the California Public School System,” the statement said. , both public schools and colleges, makes this a huge win for the state. As someone who has received an education award from the California public education system, it’s great to hear that the California school system also benefits greatly as a result of my victory.”

Under California disclosure laws, the winner’s name is public.

The winning ticket for the November 7 draw was purchased from Joe’s Service Center on Woodbury Road in Altadena. The ticket matched all six numbers – 10, 33, 41, 47, 56 and the Powerball number 10.

Jackpot winners have up to a year from the draw date to claim their prizes.

The November jackpot is the largest in U.S. lottery history and one of six billion dollar wins won since January 2016, when three tickets from California, Florida and Tennessee matched for a $1.58 billion Powerball draw.

The owner of the winning ticket will have the opportunity to receive the money in the form of payments or a lump sum. The lump sum will be $997.6 million.

Three other tickets sold in California matched five numbers in this draw but did not make the Powerball number. These tickets, sold in Garden, Beaumont, and San Francisco, each cost approximately $1.15 million. A total of 22 such tickets were sold across the country.

Joseph Chahayed, owner of the Joe Service Center, received a $1 million bonus as the salesman who sold the winning ticket. He said he was grateful that the community and schools would benefit from the lottery funds. He said he plans to split his $1 million bonus with his family.

His son told NBCLA on Monday that they have noticed an increase in post-winning lottery ticket buyers, most likely attracted by the mysterious lucky retailer.

“We’ve seen a lot more of what we call lucky shoppers coming in from all over the state,” said Joe Chahayed Jr.

The local win marks the first time that the California Lottery has given away a jackpot in excess of $1 billion to a single winner.

According to the Interstate Lottery Association, which hosts the game, the odds of hitting all five numbers and the Powerball number are 1 in 292.2 million.

Powerball is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

There have been quite a few big lottery jackpots lately, and the I-Team wanted to find out why. Lolita Lopez reporting for I-Team NBC4 February 3, 2023.