Ticket Sold In “Very Poor Neighbourhood”
On Saturday November 5th, the Powerball jackpot was one by one lucky ticket holder. After 39 drawings on the bounce failed to produce a winner, the lottery officials estimated that jackpot to be worth somewhere in the region of $1.5bn. Once the winning numbers were drawn, it emerged that a single ticket holder had scooped the lot!
Two days later, lottery officials revised that total prize fund with last-minute calculations, taking it from $1.5bn to a staggering $2.04bn (£1.8bn), instantly resulting in the new-found millionaire becoming the 1,292nd richest person in the world, according to Forbes.
Good and Bad News
However, it is not all good news. The money may have shot up but a legal technicality means the Powerball jackpot winner must now reveal their identity and location! California state law ruling states that the winner of the lottery fund must not only identify themselves, but their location too, meaning their winnings will be public knowledge! There was no such ruling in place with China’s recent “mystery” claimant.
A handful of States in the US allow for winners to remain anonymous, however, California is not one of those. The big winning ticket was purchased from Joe’s Service Centre in Altadena, California, Joe Chahayed, the shop owner, will also receive $1m for playing his part in creating a Powerball jackpot winner.
Speaking to local media Joe Chahayed revealed the area in which the ticket was sold is a “very poor neighbourhood” and that he hopes the winner was from that immediate area. He said: “I wish I knew the person but most people who buy tickets from me are from the neighbourhood. I hope one of them will be the winner. [It is a] very poor neighbourhood…It’s a very poor neighbourhood. From the bottom of my heart, I hoped somebody would win…they deserve it. The poor people deserve it.”
We may not know the exact identity of the Powerball jackpot winner yet, but what we do know is that the winner defied odds of 292.2 million to 1 to pick up the huge cash sum. The winner can choose to spread the winnings over 29 annual lump payments or opt for the cash equivalent in one lump sum, which minus taxes and fees, would be worth $997.6 million.
The new Powerball jackpot prize of $2.04bn USD beats the previous record prize of $1.586bn (£1.398bn) won in 2016 by three Powerball players in California, Florida, and Tennessee. The game is played in 45 states, as well as Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
The winning numbers drawn on Tuesday at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee were white balls 10, 33, 41, 47 and 56, and the red Powerball was 10. Tickets are $2 each with the option of a multiplier, boosting prizes to as much as 10x their stated value.
Source: “Shopkeeper Who Sold $2bn Winning Powerball Ticket: ‘It’s A Very Poor Neighbourhood. I Hoped Somebody Would Win’”. The Independent. November 9, 2022.
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