A man named Edwin Castro has won the world’s greatest jackpot in a national lottery; a whopping R37 Billion
According to the Guinness World Records, Castro took home the large amount after overcoming the odds of 1 in 292.2 million
As much as the government will hive off part of the money in taxes, Castro can easily spend the remainder of his life eating and sleeping without going broke
A California resident is smiling all the way to the bank after winning the world’s greatest jackpot in a national lottery.
Guinness World Records reports that Edwin Castro was announced as the winner of a whopping $2.05 billion (R37 billion).
Castro overcame the odds of 1 in 292.2 million to become the sole winner of the record-breakin prize money. Details indicate that the windfall also trickled down to the owner of Joe’s Service Center where the winning ticket was bought.
Store owner Joe Chahayed received a $1 million (R18 million) prize for selling the winning ticket,” reads part of the report.
Asked to choose between receiving the money as a single reduced lump sum of $997.6 million (R18 billion) and getting it in instalments for 29 years, Castro chose the former.
His money has also been eaten up by federal and jurisdictional taxes which will be deducted by the government.
Following 40 consecutive draws without a winner, the Powerball lottery’s grand prize had swollen to its largest amount ever.
Castro would soon become the eventual winner through the winning numbers of 10, 33, 41, 47, 56 and a Powerball of 10.
The winner chose to keep his identity hidden until it was revealed by California Lottery officials on Tuesday, February 14.
As much as his name was made public, Castro skipped the press announcement and preferred not to reveal any further information about himself.
He, however, released a brief statement saying he was ‘shocked’ and ‘ecstatic.’
