The sole winner of November’s record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot was named Tuesday at a news conference in California.
Edwin Castro won what is the largest-ever lottery jackpot, and he opted for the lump sum payout of $997.6 million, the California Lottery said.
Castro purchased the winning ticket in early November in Altadena, California, matching all six numbers in the drawing.
“That ticket is the sole winner of the largest jackpot in U.S. Lottery history! The ticket matched the numbers 10-33-41-47-56 and the Powerball number 10,” the California Lottery said at the time.
Castro declined to appear at the news conference, the lottery said, but he shared a statement read by lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker.
“As much as I am shocked and ecstatic to have won the Powerball drawing, the real winner is the California Public School system,” Castro’s statement reads.
California’s public schools will receive $156.3 million in supplemental funds – also a record-breaking total – thanks to the win. The prize will be shared with schools based on average daily attendance records.
“This funding is largely discretionary, meaning schools can use this for important, yet unfunded instructional programs they would otherwise not afford,” the California Lottery said in a release.
The ticket was sold at a Joe’s Service Center, the lottery said. Shop owner Joe Chahayed, a Syrian immigrant, received a $1 million bonus from the lottery for selling the winning ticket.
The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association.
In California, the lottery “is subject to public disclosure laws,” which means the winner’s full name, location of the retailer that sold the ticket, and details of the winnings “are matters of public record and are subject to disclosure,” the lottery says on its website.
