There's finally an answer to the $2 billion question first raised more than three months ago when someone walked out of a Southern California service station with a history-making lottery ticket.
The winner of a record-setting $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot has come forward and been identified by state lottery officials as Edwin Castro, the California Lottery announced Monday. No other details have been immediately released about the winner.
Castro, who bought the ticket at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, was publicly identified by the Lottery on Tuesday at a news conference, but was not at the event. Castro respectfully declined to participate in media interviews or appear publicly, the Lottery said.
A statement from Castro was read at the news conference.
"As much as I am shocked and ecstatic to have won the Powerball drawing, the real winner is the California public school system,'' the statement read. "The mission of the California Lottery, which is to provide supplemental funding for California public education, both public schools and colleges, makes this a huge win for the state. As someone who received the rewards of being educated in the California public education system, it's gratifying to hear that as a result of my win, the California school system greatly benefits as well.''
The winner's name is public record, according to California public disclosure laws.
U.S. & World
The winning ticket for the Nov. 7 drawing was purchased at Joe's Service Center on Woodbury Road in Altadena. The ticket matched all six numbers -- 10, 33, 41, 47, 56, and 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 dating to January 2016, when three tickets form California, Florida and Tennessee matched numbers in the $1.58 billion Powerball drawing.
The holder of the winning ticket will have the option of taking the money in payments or in a lump sum. The lump sum payment would be $997.6 million.
Three other tickets sold in California matched five numbers in that drawing but missed the Powerball number. Those tickets -- sold in Gardena, Beaumont and San Francisco -- were each worth roughly $1.15 million. A total of 22 such tickets were sold nationally.
Joseph Chahayed, the owner of Joe's Service Center, earned a $1 million bonus as the retailer who sold the winning ticket. He said he was grateful that the community and schools will benefit from the lottery funds. He said he planned to share his $1 million bonus payment with his family.
His son told NBCLA Monday that they've seen an increase in the number of lottery ticket buyers since the win, most of whom are likely drawn by the lucky retailer mystique.
"We've seen a lot more of what we call lucky buyers that come from all over the state," said Joe Chahayed Jr.
The local win marks the first time the California Lottery has doled out a jackpot topping $1 billion to a single winner.
The odds of matching all five numbers and the Powerball number is 1 in 292.2 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association, which conducts the game.
The Powerball game is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.
