Record $2 billion Powerball jackpot winner identified. ‘His life is changing forever’
A lucky California winner won the largest Powerball jackpot in history during a delayed Nov. 8 drawing, and people now know who he is.
Edwin Castro bought a Powerball ticket at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena and matched all six numbers, including white balls 10, 33, 41, 47, 56 and a red Powerball 10, California Lottery officials told McClatchy News.
He won $2.04 billion.
“He now carries the unique label of having won the most amount of money in the entire world from a lottery,” California Lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker told McClatchy News. “This is literally a global record.”
The jackpot rolled 41 times over a three-month period before reaching a record prize. Then as players waited for the results, a technical issue caused a nearly 10-hour drawing delay.
But Castro is now recognized as the sole winner of the record-breaking jackpot win, which players have a 1 in 292.2 million chance of winning.
Castro won’t pocket $2.04 billion, though.
He took a lump-sum payment option to take home $997.6 million. He turned down the option to be paid the $2.04 billion over the course of 30 years.
“There’s no question his life is changing forever as a result of this announcement,” Becker said.
There has only been one other jackpot that has reached over $1 billion, and people from California, Florida and Tennessee split the $1.586 billion prize.
When someone wins a jackpot, Becker said it’s a good idea to hire “a small army of experts,” including legal and financial experts. California Lottery also has a “Winner’s Handbook” for big wins.
Winners of the Powerball and Mega Millions have a year to claim prizes, and names of California winners become public because of public disclosure laws.
Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary from state to state.
Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. and can be streamed online.
Altadena is about 15 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Record $2 billion Powerball jackpot winner identified. ‘His life is changing forever’."
