The waiting and wondering is over
By Kate Northrop
After over four months, the California winner of half of the $632.6 million Powerball jackpot drawn in January has come forward to claim their share of the massive prize.
The wait is finally over. Orlando Zavala Lozano is one of the two winners who split the $632.6 million Powerball jackpot drawn on Jan. 5, 2022.
When Lozano picked up a Powerball ticket at the 7-Eleven on the corner of Wyndham Drive and Valley Hi Drive in Sacramento, he likely didn't expect that he would soon be laying claim to the seventh-largest Powerball prize in the game's history.
The jackpot was split by another winning ticket in Wisconsin, owned by a couple who stepped forward in February to claim their share of the prize.
After opting for the lump sum rather than the full $316.3 million annuitized prize, Lozano is taking home an incredible $225.1 million before federal taxes, according to the California Lottery.
Lozano is not the only winner, the Lottery emphasized. The three-month jackpot cycle lasting 40 drawings was estimated to have generated over $67.8 million for schools.
"Every dollar or more that a lottery player spends in California supports our mission to raise money for public education," Lottery Director Alva V. Johnson said in a press release. "And the local stores that sell our games — our more than 23,000 retail partners across the state — benefit too from commissions and bonuses. So, whether a player hits a big jackpot, wins a smaller prize, or doesn't win any cash at all — rest assured it's still a win-win for the community and for California."
For selling the winning ticket alone, the 7-Eleven in Sacramento received a $1 million bonus.
"Foot traffic has increased along with sales since we sold the winning ticket," store owner Harprit Dhillon told the Lottery. "Lottery games are great for small businesses, and we love selling them."
Players looking to pick up a Powerball ticket can purchase a play for $2 each. Drawings take place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays at 7:59 pm PST.
The Powerball jackpot currently stands at $135 million for this Wednesday's drawing. The odds of matching all five numbers plus the Powerball to win the jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338.
Orlando did his homework (hopefully) waiting to cash in on this huge win!
On a side note both MM & PB have nice prize payouts for secondary prize of 5#'s. Even better than Megaplier or Powerplay could provide.
Yeah Orlando needed a couple months to get his chihuahuas in a row.
Orlando:
I'm happy you're a huge winner, of such a hard game to win, so I avoid it most times, and stick with my luck with multiple P4 wins, and I hope you're going to invest, while financially(living)well like a "King." I'm sure some men believe they are, when this blessed,
either way, I hope this man invest $ live off the interest, of it all, what a true blessing financially for him, and his family.
Love this, congrats, to you, Orlando!
Hey Cassie, your comment comes across as though you know the guy. In any event when you next bump into him- let him know noise sends his regards as well.
I am sitting here wondering what would I be doing in the almost 5 months it took Orlando to come get his millions. I came to the conclusion that it would only take me about 3 weeks to get my financial affairs in order. Lawyers/ accountants/ real estate company reps/ interior designers/ getting in touch with the people I plan to help/ ignoring the ones I'm not. Making sure that the people I love never have to struggle. I think I could get all that done and be ready in less than a month. Orlando took almost 5 months , good for him, he wanted to be sure. There is no right or wrong way to collect 225 million dollars.
Don't forget the other huge lottery winner couple in California a few years ago...they waited even longer and their jackpot was higher.
Congrats to the lucky Guy, Enjoy
Maybe people who wait to claim their prize are more grounded and probably will make good decisions, than one who races to claim without a plan.
It would take longer than 3 weeks to work with attorneys and financial experts. You also would want to first interview these people and check them out and that would take a couple of weeks at least.
$2 Turned Into $316.3 million.