LOS ANGELES — The name of the record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot winner will be made public Tuesday, three months after the prized ticket was sold at an Altadena gas station in November.
The winner has “respectfully declined” the opportunity to speak publicly, California Lottery officials said, but a statement will be read on the person’s behalf. The names of lottery winners, once verified, become public record under California law.
“We will show #CaliforniaEducation a whole lot of LOVE on #ValentinesDay when we unveil the sole winner of the record-breaking $2.04 billion #Powerball #jackpot from November,” state lottery officials said in a tweet late Monday.
Along with the winner’s take-home prize, California schools will receive $156.3 million from the jackpot pool, lottery officials said.
The owner of the store that sold the winning ticket — Joseph Chahayed of Joe’s Mobile Service — already received his $1 million check. Under California’s Powerball rules, the retailer that sells the winning ticket earns a 0.5% share of the jackpot, with the reward capped at $1 million.
The odds of winning the latest jackpot were 1 in 292 million, according to the California Lottery.
The announcement about the winner will come at an 11 a.m. news conference at California Lottery headquarters in Sacramento.
Jackpot winners have a full calendar year to come forward. The winner identified Tuesday will be the California Lottery’s first billionaire, said Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the state lottery.
“We’re talking about a life-changing amount of money,” she said.
