$2 Billion Powerball Jackpot Winner Revealed, Winning Ticket Seller Gets $1 Million

A former student of California's public school system won Powerball's record-breaking $2 billion jackpot late last year, officials revealed Tuesday.

The man, identified as Edwin Castro, matched the winning numbers of 10, 33, 41, 47 and 56 from a drawing last November that also had a red Powerball number of 10, according to the California Lottery.

Castro claimed the $2.04 billion prize - the largest jackpot in the history of the United States lottery - as a lump sum of $997.6 million, the Associated Press reported. He could have chosen to receive the prize over 30 annual payments.

California officials invited Castro to speak to reporters Tuesday, but he instead sent over a written statement.

"As much as I am shocked and ecstatic to have won the Powerball drawing, the real winner is the California Public School system," he said, according to a report by CNN.

The state's lottery benefits public schools, and Castro, in his statement, identified himself as "being educated in the California public education system."

There were no other details regarding his identity.

Under California law, the state lottery has to disclose winners' full names and the location of the retailer that sold their winning tickets.

Castro purchased his winning ticket from Joe's Service Center in the unincorporated community of Altadena.

The establishment's owner, a Syrian immigrant named Joe Chahayed, got a $1 million bonus for selling the winning ticket.

State officials reportedly have Castro's winning ticket.

They are considering placing it on display at the California Lottery's headquarters, Carolyn Becker, the state lottery's Deputy Director, said.

The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, the lottery claimed on its website.

There were more than 40 consecutive drawings before Castro's numbers were called.

Castro's win means that three of the 10 largest jackpots in U.S. history were won with tickets sold in the Golden State.

Three tickets sold in California, Florida and Tennessee matched a drawing from 2016 that had a prize of $1.586 billion, the second-largest jackpot in history.

The winning ticket to the ninth largest prize of $699.8 back from 2021 was sold in California as well.