Winning Powerball jackpot ticket sold at Joe's Service Center in Altadena
California Lottery officials say that a single winning ticket from the Powerball drawing was sold at Joe's Service Center in Altadena.
"My son is expecting a baby in two months, so we are excited!" said Joseph Chahayed, owner of Joe's Service Center. "We can have a nice celebration for another baby. I have ten grandchildren."
The business will get one million dollars for selling the ticket.
The numbers for the historic $2.04 billion Powerball drawing were finally drawn Tuesday morning, about ten hours late.
The winning numbers were 10-33-41-47-56 and the Powerball was 10.
The one-time cash option was $929.1 million, before taxes.
"The winner, once they come forward, which they have a year to do that, can opt to take the cash value - that lump sum - which is about $997 million or they can take the annual payments over about 30 years that'll add up to the $2 billion," Carolyn Becker told CBSLA Reporter Jake Reiner.
Three tickets in California matched five numbers without the Powerball, sold in Gardena, Beaumont and San Francisco.
The jackpot was by far the largest lottery jackpot ever won, topping the previous record $1.586 billion prize won by three Powerball ticketholders in 2016.
In the meantime, Chahayed is relishing the moment after emigrating to Los Angeles from Syria in the 1980s.
He came with his wife, two kids and around $14,000 to his name.
"I never collect welfare, I never collect Medicare, I never collect any money from the government. All what I do, I work hard, seven days a week. I raised my kids, graduated from the college and bought a house and I bought a business all because I work hard and become an honest man," Chahayed said.
