Milwaukee man wins $768 million Powerball jackpot
Madison, Wisconsin — A 24-year-old Wisconsin man stepped forward Tuesday to claim a $768 million Powerball jackpot, the nation's third-largest, saying he "pretty much felt lucky" the day he bought his tickets. 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."
Franco declined to reveal much about himself at a news conference conducted by Wisconsin Lottery officials, smiling often but deflecting questions such as what he did for a living and what kind of car he drives. Franco did say he quit work the second day after winning, saying he just couldn't continue.
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. Under Wisconsin law, winners cannot remain anonymous.
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 jackpot is the third-largest behind the world record $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot shared by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee in January 2016 and a $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot won in South Carolina last October.
Wisconsin Department of Revenue officials estimated that if the winner takes the cash prize the state would claim $38 million of the winnings as tax revenue. Annual tax revenue from annuities would build from $11.6 million this year to $47 million by 2048.
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.
"I'm not sure what the next chapter is gonna bring for my life, but I have been setting up the best legal team," Franco said in a news conference.
"I simply just can't believe an ordinary guy like me could win the Powerball," he added.
Seven tickets matched all five white balls but missed matching the red Powerball to win a $1 million prize. Those tickets were sold in Arizona, two in California, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey and New York. Two other tickets sold in Kansas and Minnesota matched all five white balls and doubled the prize to $2 million since the tickets included the Power Play option for an additional $1.
Powerball is played in 44 states as well as Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.