Powerball Record Goes to Californian Player

A single player from California won the record Powerball jackpot in Monday night’s drawing, landing a grand prize worth $2.04 billion.

The jackpot had initially been estimated at $1.9 billion - already the biggest of all time - but higher ticket sales than anticipated lifted it above the $2 billion mark.

The draw did not go ahead as planned on Monday evening, as one participating state - later revealed to be Minnesota - suffered a sales verification processing delay.

When the results were finally announced on Tuesday morning, the winning numbers were confirmed as 10, 33, 41, 47 and 56. The Powerball was 10 and the Power Play multiplier was 2x.

It was later declared that the jackpot had been won, ending a run of 40 consecutive rollovers, and that the winning ticket was sold in California.

While the winner has one year to come forward, the California Lottery has already held a press conference with the owner of the store in Altadena where the lucky ticket was purchased.

Joe Chahayed, who runs Joe’s Service Center, was presented with a check for $1 million and expressed excitement for himself and the local winner.

He said: “I’ll share it with family, with whatever is needed, with my kids, my grandchildren. I have 11 grandchildren and I'll share with them.”

Chahayed added: “It’s a very poor neighborhood...It's a very poor neighborhood. From the bottom of my heart, I hoped somebody would win...they deserve it.”

The winner has one year from the draw date to come forward and claim their prize. They will be able to choose between taking the $2.04 billion as an annuity, or a lump sum of $997 million. The California Lottery does not allow big winners to stay anonymous.

Published: Wednesday, November 9, 2022