Second-largest lottery jackpot in history finally claimed

Updated with additional information about jackpot winners

By Kate Northrop

Today, the California Lottery announced the winners of a $1.765 billion Powerball jackpot, the second-largest lottery jackpot in history.

One ticket in a small California town won the $1.765 billion Powerball jackpot from the drawing on Oct. 11, 2023, and now we know who it belongs to.

Theodorus Struyck was revealed by the California Lottery as the representative for the group of winners who bought that fateful ticket at Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park. Struyck was one of the group members who hit the jackpot, Lottery Deputy Director Public Affairs and Communications Carolyn Becker told Lottery Post.

On Wednesday, March 27, the Lottery relayed to Lottery Post that Struyck was the one to purchase the winning ticket on behalf of the group of winners, of which there are 14 total members. The Lottery originally did not disclose this information at the time they announced Struyck as the winner, citing that they have never had a group win of this magnitude before.

The California Lottery told Lottery Post that the group of winners opted to take the cash option of the jackpot, which came out to $774.1 million before taxes. One of the best things about winning the lottery in California is that there is no state tax on lottery prizes, with only federal taxes to pay. After deducting federal taxes from the prize, the group took home $588.3 million.

The Lottery also revealed to Lottery Post that the winning ticket was a Quick Pick, information they treated as sensitive information during their initial announcement.

The jackpot win ended the historic Powerball run after 36 consecutive drawings, which lasted approximately three months.

Those 36 draws alone generated $119.5 million for public schools in California, according to the Lottery.

"Announcing big wins like this gives all of our players the chance to hope and dream that they could be next," California Lottery Director Harjinder K. Shergill Chima said in a press release. "But it also gives us an opportunity to shine the spotlight on our terrific mission, which is to generate additional, supplemental funding for public education in California. So, it's students of all ages across the state, who win every day thanks to our players, our retail partners who sell these fun games, and our hard-working staff here at the Lottery. This is an exciting day for all of us!"

It was also the fourth time someone in the state of California purchased a winning ticket for a lottery jackpot worth more than $1 billion. Only one of those jackpots was shared with players from other states, meaning it's also the third lottery ticket sold in the state laying sole claim to a $1 billion+ jackpot.

Midway Market & Liquor, a family-owned business situated about 75 miles north of Los Angeles, took home a $1 million check from the Lottery as a bonus for selling the winning ticket. The California Lottery's 23,000 retailers across the state collectively earned more than $18 million in commissions and bonuses during the jackpot run, according to a press release.

The largest jackpot ever won is the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot drawn in 2022, which was claimed by Altadena resident and vintage car enthusiast Edwin Castro.

The Powerball jackpot currently stands at $600 million for the next drawing on Sat., Mar. 16 at 10:59 pm Eastern Time.

Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Drawings take place at 10:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

The winning numbers, official drawing videos, jackpot analysis showing after-tax jackpot amounts, complete prize payout charts, and more can be found at USA Mega (www.usamega.com), a popular website offering in-depth information about the USA's two biggest multi-state lottery games, Powerball and Mega Millions.