Powerball update: Store in Frazier Park, California, nets huge payday as worker says unidentified winner ‘owes me a new truck’
A liquor store in California celebrated selling a lucrative lottery ticket worth $1.73 billion – with the clerk who reportedly handed out the lucky numbers declaring: ‘someone owes me a new truck.’
The life-changing ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, about an hour from Los Angeles, as a tense 12 weeks of twists and turns came to an end Wednesday night.
Although the winner has yet to emerge, store owners May and Jacklin Khalil also scored a big payday as they stand to receive at least $1 million just for selling the ticket.
Duke, the staff member who sold the winning ticket, added CBS Los Angeles: ‘The phone rang… someone owes me a new truck.’
The employee said he was sure the winner was a local resident of the small town of 2,500, as people “religiously” come to the store every week to get their tickets for upcoming drawings.
The winning numbers were 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and the Powerball was 10.
The single ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, in a small California community of just 2,500 people
Duke, the liquor store worker who reportedly sold the winning ticket, speculated that the winner was a local person since the store is located in a small town. He joked that the winner ‘owes me a new truck’
The huge payout is the second largest lottery prize in US history, after Edwin Castro’s $2.04 billion Powerball win in California last November.
Castro went on to make a number of lavish property purchases, fueling speculation about who the country’s latest billionaire lottery winner might be.
The liquor store is about 100 miles north of downtown Los Angeles and is located in the Los Padres National Forest.
Since it’s away from Interstate-5, Duke said he believes it’s won by a local in the small community where the median household income in 2020 is $42,200.
“I’m pretty sure it’s a local,” he said. ‘There are people coming in every day to get their tickets. We know them by name, so I’m sure someone will be shouting up and down.’
He added that great excitement built up among local residents after news spread, and the “phone was ringing off the hook, people saying congratulations.”
“A lot of customers come in every day to get their tickets religiously, and a lot of them said, ‘If I win, I’m going to get you a new truck… so where’s my truck?’ he joked.
Chris Khalil, right, helps a customer at the Midway Market & Liquor store where a winning lottery ticket was sold in Frazier Park. The winner has yet to emerge, but the store scored a big payday
Store owners May and Jacklin Khalil celebrated and said they were ‘so happy’ after learning they would receive $1 million just for selling the winning numbers
The winning numbers were: 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and the Powerball 10
Owners May and Jacklin Khalil were stunned to learn that they had sold the numbers, with the mystery winner not the only one in luck as the duo will take home at least $1 million.
“We are so excited,” May Khalil said NBC Los Angeles. “(Jacklin’s) son called me and said, ‘We won.’ I didn’t believe it. I thought, he’s joking.’
After initially believing the news was a joke, the family-owned store erupted in celebrations – which included friends and a bottle of tequila.
“We are so happy,” they said. “It’s so exciting.”
The win comes after a 12-week winning streak that stretched to July 19, when another California lottery player won $1.08 billion after matching all six numbers.
Lottery officials allow 180 days for the winner to claim their prize.
The long switch was no surprise, however, as Powerball’s terrifying 1 in 292.2 million odds are designed to generate huge jackpots, with prizes getting bigger and bigger as they roll over repeatedly when no one wins.
This comes after another lucky Californian, Edwin Castro, broke records by raising $2.04 billion last November.
Like most lottery winners, Castro opted to take a lump sum payment that reduced his winnings to $997.6 million — with Wednesday’s winner taking home $757 million if they do the same.
While this is still an eye-watering amount of money, as a percentage of the advertised jackpot amount it is the lowest since at least 2003, just 44 percent.
Khalil is one of the workers at the shop in the small town. Employees say locals come in ‘religiously’ to get their lottery tickets
On Wednesday, just 44 percent of the advertised $1.73 billion jackpot will be available as a lump sum. This is the lowest it has been since as far back as 2003
On January 21, the winner of the $730 million jackpot paid out a whopping $550 million. So the lump sum was 75 percent of the advertised jackpot
Record-breaking $2 billion Powerball jackpot winner Edwin Castro continues to add to his real estate portfolio
Castro’s life took a dramatic turn when he bought the winning ticket at a local gas station last year before claiming a lump sum of $997.6 million in February.
Castro went on to make a number of real estate purchases, including a sprawling $47 million Los Angeles compound along with three separate California mansions totaling $76 million.
The massive LA property has seven bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, a koi pond and an enormous infinity pool that overlooks the city.
He was also seen driving away from a bank in a vintage Porsche earlier this year.
About 98 percent of all lottery winners choose to take their winnings in a lump sum, a decision that shrinks the winnings significantly while wealth managers advise against it.
For those rare few who take home the full ‘headline’ jackpot amount, their winnings are paid out in annuities over a period of 30 years.
Although the initial annuity payment is not disclosed by the Powerball, in the case of the Mega Millions lottery, it is approximately 1.5 percent of the jackpot amount.
For example, in the case of Wednesday’s $1.73 billion jackpot, the first payout will be around $26 million. Each year for the next 30, the winner will be paid the same amount plus 5 percent.
In year 10, they would receive about $40 million and their final payment would be about $107 million. At that point, the total amount they ever received over the thirty years would be approximately $1.73 billion.
However, come 2053, when the winner is paid their final installment, the dollar is expected to have less purchasing power due to inflation.