"Couldn't have happened to a better guy"
By Kate Northrop
Following the California Lottery's announcement of Theodorus Struyck as one of the lottery winners of the $1.765 billion Powerball jackpot on Friday, neighbors have come out and said that the win "couldn't have happened to a better guy."
The California Lottery named Theodorus Struyck, 65, as the representative of a group that won $1.765 billion in the Oct. 11, 2023 Powerball drawing, cementing them in history as winners of the world's second-largest lottery jackpot.
While the other members of the group have not been named, Struyck stepped forward on behalf of his group since the California Lottery does not allow winners to claim prizes anonymously. As it turns out, neighbors of Struyck have nothing but nice things to say about him.
Struyck, who also goes by Theo, has been lauded as a kind "family man" who has been retired from his last job at UPS.
Kevin Woten, a neighbor who has lived in Frazier Park for over 20 years, told the Daily Mail that he has not seen Struyck for days.
"When I hear Theo won, I thought, 'Couldn't have happened to a better guy," he relayed to the news outlet. "He's a family man, loves to spend time with his grandkids. He adores the kids. He's a really kind person and always seems happy. I imagine he's got a lot of ideas of what he wants to do with the money."
Like Woten, Struyck has been a long-time resident in Frazier Park, a small town of 3,000 people, for well over a decade with his wife, Laura. He is originally from Hawaii, and although he is not presumed to have any relatives directly affected by the devastating fires in Maui, Woten noted he seemed "distraught" over the devastation in their last long conversation together.
Another neighbor, Mary Dreier, remarked that she hadn't seen him around for a few days.
"He's a really nice person and is enjoying retirement," Dreier told the Daily Mail. "I knew the winner had claimed the ticket in San Diego, which was very smart. Kudos to him!"
Acquaintances of Struyck say that he has a son in the US Marines who is based out of San Diego, which is where the winning ticket was cashed. He is also known to be a fishing enthusiast, with a small boat parked outside his garage.
Another nameless neighbor noted that the recent media attention has driven Struyck away from home in the quiet mountainside town. The last time the unidentified neighbor saw him was about five days ago when he had put up a no trespassing sign on his property.
The owner of Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, the retailer that sold the $1.765 billion winning ticket, said that Struyck is a regular customer and visits the store at least two to three times a week. He last visited the retailer on Thursday, but owner Nidal 'Andy' Khalil did not have a chance to congratulate him in person yet.
"I was sure someone local had bought the ticket, and I'm so glad it was," Khalil said to DailyMail.com.
Khalil was originally worried that the ticket was lost when no one had come forward for five months.
"I'm very happy that someone finally claimed the winnings because I thought the ticket might've been lost or the winner washed it in their laundry," he added. "I don't get too many customers from out of town, so I thought it would be someone local."
Although the entire nation had its eyes on Midway Market & Liquor thanks to the media storm generated by the sale of the winning ticket, Khalil said things around the tiny town have mostly gone "back to normal."
Midway Market & Liquor, a family-owned business of over 30 years, took home a $1 million check from the Lottery as a bonus for selling the winning ticket.
The Powerball jackpot currently stands at $687 million for the next drawing on Wed., Mar. 20 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.
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One of the best feel good stories in a long time on LP!
Now his face is like Cruz's...plastered all over the place. The price for fame and fortune in non-anonymous state.
Naturally want to just know how many others he was in the group with, names no necessary. And like to know if it was a QP.
Good luck everyone tonight on Mega Millions.
Poor guy's face is going to be all over the Internet. California needs to get with the times and allow winners to claim prizes anonymously (or via a verifiable trust) if the choose to do so. This is ridiculous. For a state that claims to care about privacy as well as safety, it's quite ironic California hasn't been able to adopt to the times yet.
Sounds like it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
I wish him all the best.
Congrats to the lucky guy, enjoy.
* Taking nothing away from this better guy, but there's a ton of " better guys & gals on LP" that deserve to win either MM or PB. Let's not short change the good people on LP who have been playing for decades- just saying.👍
Glad to see a nice person win. I think it is sheer arrogance to assume there are "better" people on lp who should have won. Everyone is equally entitled. Length of time playing is not relevant nor does it make anyone more deserving.
Bitterness does get in the way for some people playing the lottery.
* Hello, the post says a friend mentions " couldn't have happened to a BETTER guy." Just stop your criticism over everything. Grow up.
I think someone could have won a big jackpot on LP and just decided to be anonymous.
Or they could have used their real name and you wouldn't know that "noise gate" is actually Theo.
And they would continue being on LP like nothing happened, lol.
Someone does not understand what that phrase means. And coming from the trolling king of criticism.
I have my one ticket for tonight's MM draw, if I win big, I will let everyone know.
Otherwise we forge ahead, one ticket at a time.
Fingers crossed.
* We forge ahead, yeah. Unfortunately for California, it's coughing up your name, taking your pic of you like and where you purchased your ticket. There is always the gorilla suit standing by.
* After all these years you still the same, always criticizing posts you don't like because it bothers you. Undergo therapy.
The grammar is atrocious.
I agree. It is kind of naive to assume there are not at least a couple of $1 million plus winners on this site. I am thrilled for them and glad they kept it quiet.
chill brah. "couldn't have happened to a better guy" is a colloquialism in english. you're not supposed to take it literally. you're also not supposed to take a bunch of uppers before posting online.
This is why you should relocate immediate after winning.
They announced publicly he lived 500 yards from the neighborhood store. His privacy is now gone.
A group representative, means he must have bought the winning ticket for a player pool. Lucky group of people.
For the heck of it just scanned tonight's MM ticket @ Pilot. Folks should know it fixes the mechanical balls so they come in.
On the lighter side just pulled up GA pick 4....1999 and paid over $4 million.
Then onto KY and stared @ the pick 4. Darned if my cell phone # 0982 didn't come in exact order. Would never play it and $5K out the window!!
Welp, Some people have a fear of (You're ) I think it's called himaflopaphobia.
When I win that's what people are gonna say about me!
In the meantime, congratulations to Mr. Struyck!
Looks like a cool guy.
I wonder if the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) could have an effect on state/US lottery privacy laws in the future. Several US states are following it now. It really protects personal data 100x better than current US laws. A bit of extrapolation to protect the identity of lottery winners is not far fetched.
Good luck everybody ... 893 million .....
I have 4 for tonight, one for every $100million of cash.
Not sure what I'll do if I win big.
I didn't realize it had been raised again. Must be an increase in sales.
I'd like to win but if it rolls a few more times, I'll hit $1billion!
Don't have to worry because I didn't win again. I only matched 1 number on 4 lines and no MegaBall. Back to the store tomorrow for more tickets!
That's smart thinking .... Coming up with a formula to regulate how many tickets you purchase!
Delaware lottery projects the next mm jackpot will reach 977 if no one wins tonight.
Weird that the article says "Struyck is the representative of a group that won $1.765 billion" and "the other members of the group have not been named" but it sure looks like this discussion is assuming Struyck is the sole ticket owner.
Can't recall in the past where the neighbors' of another spokesman of a group of jackpot winners were interviewed
Took MUSL a long time (as I tossed and turned) to announce that Mega Millions jackpot will be $977 million Friday. Speaking for many LP members, if not all, that we know it'll jump up over $1 Billion for Friday.
Is it possible in California to come forward to claim a lottery win through a lawyer, LLC or wearing a mask?