California Lottery unveils the name of the $2.04 billion-dollar Powerball jackpot winner

The California Lottery confirmed that the record-breaking Powerball jackpot of $2.04 billion won in November was claimed. Ahead of the drawing in November, a lucky man purchased his Powerball ticket at Joe's Service Center in Altadena, Los Angeles County, California. It has taken more than 40 draws of the Powerball until the jackpot was finally hit.

Well, on the 41st draw, Edwin Castro, a really lucky man guessed correctly all six numbers to secure the staggering $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot win. Currently, the laws in California give the winner up to 1 year to claim the prize.

A few months after the staggering jackpot dropped, earlier this week, the California Lottery finally confirmed the name of the winner. But the winner chose to remain private and only sent a statement to the lottery.

The numbers 10, 33, 41, 47 and 56, as well as Powerball number 10 brought Castro the game's largest prize from the drawing on November 8, 2023. The lucky man was granted two options for securing the prize - collecting a lump sum of cash or receiving 30 annual installment payments. As with most high-value prize winners, Castro decided to collect the cash option of $997.6 million. Additionally, the location that sold the winning ticket, Joe's Service Center, received a $1 million bonus.

"As much as I am shocked and ecstatic to have won the Powerball drawing, the real winner is the California public school system," wrote Castro, the winner of the multi-billion-dollar jackpot in a statement released by the California Lottery earlier this week. He added: "The mission of the California Lottery, which is to provide supplemental funding for California public education – both public schools and colleges – makes this a huge win for the state."

Finally, Castro wrote: "As someone who received the rewards of being educated in the California public education system, it's gratifying to hear that, as a result of my win, the California school system greatly benefits as well."

Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the California Lottery added: "California is blessed to have so many Lottery-made millionaires, including more than 140 last year alone." She explained that often time winners of big prizes such as Castro said that they are excited to see the games benefit a number of good causes around the state.

Alva V. Johnson, the California Lottery's Director, outlined: "We here at the California Lottery take a tremendous amount of pride in our mission – which is to raise and reliably deliver supplemental funding for public education."

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