An insanely lucky person in the US has won R35 billion but has yet to claim their prize

A super-lucky Californian resident has won a record R35bn in the Powerball lottery, but has yet to claim their prize. Image via Nappy.co

A super-lucky Californian resident has won a record R35bn in the Powerball lottery, but has yet to claim their prize. Image via Nappy.co

Published Jan 24, 2023

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Someone in the United States is living my dream!

There is one super lucky Californian resident who has won a record $2.04 billion (R35bn) in the Powerball lottery, but has yet to claim their prize, according to People Magazine.

Under Californian state law, the winner has a year to collect their billions.

The lottery took place in November 2022 and therefore the winner has roughly 10 months to get their s*** together and get the money.

The area where the lucky ticket correctly matched the winning numbers is Altadena in California.

The winning numbers were: 0, 33, 41, 47 and 56, and 10 as the Powerball.

According to US news reports, the winning draw was the “world's largest lottery prize”, and the mystery winner could either take a lump sum payment of $997.6 million (R17bn) before taxes or an annuitised prize.

What happens if no one claims the powerball prize?

Lottery spokesperson Carolyn Becker says the prize money is returned to “all lotteries in proportion to their sales for the draw run”.

LUCKY KIDS

There is a bright side or silver lining, California policy dictates that all unclaimed lottery winning goes to public schools in the area or state.

SOME MORE GOOD NEWS

There is another shining light in this story, the winning ticket was sold at a service station owned by an elderly Syrian immigrant.

The grandfather of 10, was given $1m as a price for selling the winning ticket, by the state lottery.

Joseph Chahayed is called Papa Joe in the area because he treats all his customers like family.

"When you treat customers with respect and dignity, they will keep coming to you, they will be loyal to you. We treat the customer like family“, Chahayed said.

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