A “ecstatic” lottery winner has won the £1.68billion Powerball reward, making it the largest lottery payout ever. Officials from the California Lottery disclosed on Tuesday that Edwin Castro had won the record-breaking rollover amount, which is almost £1.38 billion, back in November. The proceeds from ticket sales gathered in the months before the draw will go to California schools, totaling more than £128million, according to the New York Times.
Joe Chahayed, the owner of Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, California, received a $1 million (£822,000) bonus for selling him the winning ticket.
Mr Castro was the sole winner of the prize, despite odds of approximately one in 292.2 million
He declined invitations to press interviews and instead said in a statement that he was “shocked and estatic” to have won the lottery.
He added: “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.”
Mr. Castro chose a one-time lump sum payment of £821.61million over receiving the full amount of his win in multiple installments over 30 years, according to lottery officials.
California lottery officials rejoiced at being able to share the name of the winner.
Carolyn Becker, a spokeswoman for the California Lottery, reportedly said: “We get to celebrate a real human today. Although he would like to remain private, we’re very excited to announce a winner and we’re so pleased that he’s particularly supportive of our mission.”
The proceeds from ticket sales gathered in the months before the draw will go to California schools, totaling more than £128.48million.
Castro’s numbers, which included the red Powerball number 10 and the following numbers: 10, 33, 41, 47, and 56, were called after more than 40 drawings in a row.
Castro’s winning ticket is now in the possession of state officials, who could display it at the lottery’s headquarters, according to Ms Becker.
She said: “These numbers represent promises kept since voters created the lottery in 1984 with the explicit purpose and intent to raise supplemental funding for public education.”
$2 billion was raised by the California Lottery for public schools during the most recent fiscal year.
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