Winner Of $768 Million Powerball Jackpot Comes Forward
MADISON, Wis. (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A 24-year-old Wisconsin man stepped forward Tuesday to claim a $768 million Powerball jackpot, the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history, saying he "pretty much felt lucky" the day he bought his tickets.
Lottery officials scheduled a news conference where the ticket was sold last month. The winning numbers were 16, 20, 37, 44, 62 and the Powerball number 12.
Manuel Franco, of West Allis, said he was sorting through $10 worth of quick-pick tickets after the March 27 drawing and thought he had checked all his tickets. Then he saw one last ticket stuck to another one, and recounted to reporters the feeling as he matched the first two numbers, then glanced at the Powerball to see it matched too.
"I was going insane," Franco said. "I looked back at the three other numbers, they all matched. My heart started racing, my blood started pumping, I felt warm. I started screaming."
State law in Wisconsin doesn't allow lottery winners to stay anonymous.
He said he would take a lump sum payment, hoped to make some charitable contributions and was prepared for people who might come asking for money.
"I'm ready and I know how to say no," Franco said.
The winning ticket was sold on March 27 at a Speedway gas station in the Milwaukee suburb of New Berlin, a city of about 40,000 people roughly 14 miles southwest of Milwaukee.
The $768 million prize refers to an annuity option paid over 29 years. The winner also can choose a $477 million cash option. Nearly all grand prize winners opt for the cash prize. The gas station will receive $100,000 for selling the winning ticket.
The win comes almost exactly two years after Wisconsin hit its last Powerball jackpot, when a Milwaukee resident won $156.2 million on March 22, 2017.
The odds of matching all six balls in the Powerball drawing were 1 in 292.2 million. The winning numbers were 16, 20, 37, 44 and 62.
Powerball is played in Texas and 43 other states, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
