The identity of the person who won the record Powerball jackpot of $2.04 billion has been revealed.
Edwin Castro bought the ticket for the record prize, which was drawn in November, lottery officials announced Tuesday.
Castro “would like to remain largely private” and declined to attend Tuesday’s announcement, California Lottery Director Alva Johnson said.
In California, winners’ names are public record and winners may not remain anonymous. Other identifying information, such as place of residence, age or other details, are not, authorities said.
Castro said in a statement read out at Tuesday’s event that he was “shocked and ecstatic” to have won the jackpot. The statement gave no hint as to how he will spend it.
He chose the lump-sum payment, which totals $997.6 million, said state lottery deputy director and spokeswoman Carolyn Becker. Most take that option, she said.
Winners also have the option of taking the prize in 30 payments over 29 years, which is a larger amount but is spread over time.
The winner had to come forward and then go through a vetting process to determine if the ticket and claim were legitimate before the identity of the lucky ticket holder could be made public, Becker said.
The winning ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, a community about 10 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, the California Lottery announced at the time.
On November 8, Joseph Chahayed, owner of the gas station and convenience store, received a check for $1 million for selling the ticket. Chahayed, 74, said he came to the United States from Syria with his wife and his two children and plans to “share this money with my children and grandchildren.”
The $2.04 billion jackpot on November 8 was the largest ever won in the history of the Powerball game, which began in 1992.
But there was some suspense: The draw was scheduled for November 7, but it was delayed by a problem and the numbers weren’t announced until the next morning. The Association of Multi-State Lotteries said at the time that it needed to wait for a lottery to process its sales.
Only two previous jackpot prizes have exceeded $1.5 billion: a $1.53 billion Mega Millions game in 2018 won by a player from South Carolina and three winning tickets sold in California, Florida and Tennessee on a $1.58 thousand Powerball. million in 2016.
The chances of choosing all six numbers correctly? One in 292.2 million.
dua anjum , chantal da silva and David K Li contributed.
