Some Raise Doubt the $1Billion Powerball Winner in Cali Has Been ID'd
Story updated July 23, 2023
Hmmmm. On Thursday morning, a woman wearing a black baseball cap was spotted in a downtown Los Angeles store where the $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot ticket was sold. After thanking several people for the winning ticket, she quickly left the store and drove off in a BMW with tinted windows without talking to reporters.
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KTLA 5 News reporter Eric Spillman stated: “She came in here and she screamed … She hugged people in the store and then she ran away. She claims that she has the winning Powerball jackpot ticket.” The ticket was sold on Wednesday at Las Palmitas Mini Market on Wall Street. The lucky numbers were 7, 10, 11, 13 and 24, with a Powerball of 24.
The owner of the store, Nabor Herrera, was greeted by a swarm of reporters Thursday who informed him that he had in fact sold the winning ticket. “It’s a surprise for me...I don’t know what it is, filming or what,” Herrera stated. He will now receive a bonus of $1 million from the California Lottery.
The owner of the store is now raising doubt the woman won. Others claimed the woman was faking, though one woman said she believes the woman’s mother might have won.
Here’s the Idependent:
Sarai Palacios, the granddaughter of owner Nabor Herrera, told The Daily Mail that she believed the woman was faking her “hysterical” celebrations.
“She didn’t win — I’m not sure why she did that. I guess she just wanted to be on TV,” Ms Palacios said.
Mr Herrera told K-CAL he didn’t recognise the woman, and thought “it was fake”. However, his daughter thought the woman’s mother might be the winner. He said most of his customers were Latino, and he hoped the winner was one of his regulars.
According to the California Lottery, for every Powerball ticket sold 80 cents will be allocated toward public education. Carolyn Becker, a California Lottery spokesperson, said: “Thanks to this jackpot that grew for 39 different draws, the California Lottery raised nearly $80 million for public schools just from the last three months.”
In addition, Becker said that they will spend time verifying the alleged winner. “They have to claim their prize, and then we have to spend time vetting the winner to make sure it is the right person,” she explained during a news conference.
The lucky person will get to choose between one lump sum payment of $558.1 million or an annuity for the $1.08 billion. Both are these figures are before taxes. The grand prize of $1.08 billion is the third largest in the game’s history since it began in 1992.
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