Six months after someone in California was announced a co-winner in the historic $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot, the mystery buyer has finally been revealed — and it's a couple who were laying low on purpose, lottery officials said.
Newly minted millionaires Marvin and Mae Acosta said in a statement Tuesday that they were thankful for the "rare gift that has been placed in our care" after hitting all of the numbers.
The couple have taken home their share — a cash option of $327.8 before taxes — from the Jan. 13 jackpot that was split with two other winners in Florida and Tennessee.
But while those winners stepped forward relatively quickly, the Acostas were apparently taking their time to mull over their financial options.
"It may have taken six months for them to come to one of our offices, but these winners did just what we tell all our winners to do — they read our Winner's Handbook and then assembled a team of legal and financial advisors to help them make the most of this windfall and prepare them for their new life as Lottery winners," California Lottery Director Hugo Lopez said in a statement. "We couldn't be happier for them and are thrilled they took the time to assemble the right team before coming in to claim."
The couple confirmed they have been consulting advisers who could help they become "good stewards" of their windfall.
"While many decisions are still to be made, we have committed nearly all of this new resource to a Trust and to charities that are important to us," they added. "While we are very grateful for the wonderful wishes and encouragement we've received, it is not our intention to become public figures, and we ask for and appreciate privacy going forward."
A 7-Eleven in Chino Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles, also netted a $1 million bonus for selling the winning ticket.
While the couple lives in a state where winners must make themselves known publicly, the couple still declined to be interviewed or have photo released Tuesday, the California Lottery said.
The Florida winners of the shared record jackpot, a married couple originally from Long Island, New York, also opted to take the lump sum, they said after coming forward in February.
The Tennessee winners, a family from the tiny town of Munford, were the first to reveal themselves, telling the Today show just days after they won the drawing that they didn't plan to quit their jobs or buy a mansion.
Thanks to hearsetrax for the tip.
music*: They must have listened to your advice. See that about the Winner's handbook? It is very informative for lottery winners.
while it's important to get prepared..I don't think...no...I know I couldn't wait as long as they did.
I hear you loud and clear haymaker; maybe two months max, who knows?
Could you imagine what the jackpot would have been if still NOT won? They probably would have changed the rules and let all the five # winners split it all.
That's about as long as I could hold out.
Wonder if they realized they were winners right away ?
With all the hoopla going on at Chino Hills 7-11 they must have know early on,
may not get much more details on this as they choose smartly to shun the publicity
and decline interviews.
If still not won ?
Interesting thought !
I chuckled when I read that the TN winners planned on working and not buy a mansion saying their one story-house was adequate. They purchased a 320 acre estate with a 9900 sq. ft home a month after claiming their prize.
How quickly plans change!
Laying low on purpose. Really. So it wasn't that guy that went on social media and told everybody to screw it up their asses.
I better start busy reading that winner handbook now so I don't have to wait 6 long months to claim the prize :)
I wonder if they will go on HGTV and purchase a house LOL
too long to wait unless they really didn't need it right away like most. how many 6 month's do you get in a lifetime. they kinda sorta wasted 1 6 month segment of the rest of their lives. it shouldn't take that long to get your ducks in a row. now they have to pay a bevy of accountants, lawyers, financial advisors, and others and probably won't even spend 10% of the money ever. more than likely leaving it to their kids who will rip through it like swiss cheese.
been trying to get information on these clods. are they still working. employer would have to be crazed to take them back. thought the whole thing was a charade to deflect people from hounding them. good ploy.
What are you talking about?
l am more interested in finding out if the daughter of those TN winners continued her relationship with that con in prison.Supposedly it was he * the con that supplied the parents with the winning # & the money. Some guys just got all the luck.
I guess l'm just a sucker for a good love story.
Congrats to the Acostas in part of the record breaking 1.6 billion powerball win. It was on KCAL 9 news today that the Hispanic couple claimed their share of the powerball prize. It seemed obvious they were getting they're stuff together quietly not even say goodbye to they're neighbors. Everything they did to claim is what I plan to do when I win it BIG someday, except give my full name if the lottery office requires I.D. But I know for a fact that lottery winners will never live normal lifes once they get that giant check. Only time will tell when we'll hear from the Indiana mega millions winner/s.
Interesting that they showed up with security. No one knew they were claiming the prize. You can buy kidnapping insurance which would help pay a ransom before you get your winnings. If they went to the lottery office on Friday, they also got a head start. The news articles appeared today. I'm surprised the lottery would do that. Seems they really dont care much about safety.
Congratulations to the Acosta family in Chino Hills, California. Their dreams have come true.
Isn't winning a record-breaking jackpot what most of us here are playing for? Not all but most of us.
They timed this to co-inside with the Republican National Convention. Maybe the Indiana winners are waiting for the Democratic National Convention.
Huge congrats to the Acostas! Imagine waiting until election day to claim. 4 months, but plenty of time to get your ducks in a row.
Powerball! I got my tickets! Lets go!
Six months? WOW!!!. At least they are safe. Congratulations.
When or IF I win I am just going STRAIGHT to the headquarter the following day to claim it but the Cash would arrive 1/2 weeks after I know
The nutcases out there have probably already gone crazy zaba search finding out where they had and possibly do live.
Anyway very happy for them.
As a fellow Californian to Marvin & Mae Acosta, I would like to thank them for showing us how to turn down the press availability and the grip and grin photo. Many LP Members here have recommended this. My decision about that is now made up and I will say, "No Thank You" when asked to at the Lottery Office.
I feel for the States that have a full news conference and photo shoot.
California is showing leadership in this area and the area of taxing lottery winners. No taxes on Lottery winnings.
I thank the voters, the legislature, and our Governor.
Congrats to the winners!!!
I had to laugh at the folks that were aghast at the winners who "claimed too soon", and at the winners who "waited too long to claim".
There is really nothing like claiming too soon, or waiting too long to claim{provided it's claimed before it expires}. Only the winner determines what the ideal and right time to claim for his or her individual circumstance. Remember, one man's meat is another man's poison.
Really thought this was a lost ticket. Maybe after seeing the foolish Tennessee winners, they were super cautious.
The idea of keeping their job and living in their tiny one-story house evaporated once the funds showed up in their account.
(Note to TN couple....This my friend, is how you claim a jackpot!!!)
I think this was a well thought-out operation....
Another article said that the moving van showed up at their house on Thursday (according to neighbors....) and then the couple claimed the ticket on Friday....(AWESOME!!!)
When reporters showed up at their home...no one was there to answer....(DOUBLE AWESOMENESS!!!)
So the reporters turned to the neighbors to try a get information...
It is possible that it took so long if they were wanting to sell their home as reporters said this couple just purchase that home a year ago....(and now they are completely moved out....)
Also, it does not say how many trust or charities were set up but I know it takes time to get everything in order (forming the trust/charities, filing the paperwork, getting info back from the IRS etc....)
Or maybe the undisclosed location that they were going to was not available until now...who knows...
I think of it this way....taking six months to get everything in order is nothing compared to the rest of your life that you have to managed this windfall.
Imagine how they must feel right now....
the accounts are set,
the trust and charities are in place
they are out of the neighborhood
the ticket has been submitted and validated
All that is left is to collect and begin the new job as a philanthropist...
Well played....(yep...well played!)
Lottery drawing happens at 11pm(fast asleep). Official numbers are posted 11:03. Wakes up at 6am checks numbers and see I won. Sends text to boss to go <snip> herself(yes I said herself. She is two faced and possess a lot of qualities I don't like. Yes I believe this could be resolved if I feed her my kids for breakfast.) Calls State lottery to tell em I won and I'm coming to claim my prize. Calls bank for short term loan of 40,000. Rides off in to the sunset(? Even though its only the beginning of my new life) with this song on repeat as background music
That's why I had to laugh. The "experts" that haven't won a jackpot telling someone who has that they're stupid for claiming (pick one) too soon/not soon enough.
If YOU win the jackpot- you can claim whenever you want, it's all up to you : the Winner. You call the shots.Screw what other may think or say, you now a millionaire and don't have to listen to other people's crap.That serious money is Yours.Only thing is you not going to get your cheque the next day , but who cares- You Won & you can raise the middle finger to anyone who tells you you claimed too soon or waited too long.
Yo Dog, no zaba search needed. Bing search has it. Nice current house. What will they buy in the next 6 months?
All my fingers work fine. Unsure how money changes that ability. Seems silly to treat others with such brashness... I'm sure this couple will indeed have their privacy respected. I wish them well in their health and wealth.
Wow, if this California bought ticket was claimed more than two months after the Powerball drawing date, why wasn't it forced to be paid out via ANNUITY only?
Dear TheGameGrl, I very much like your 'signature' motto!
Opps Golfer is too late! The LA Times is reporting that they've already moved from this house in Eastvale last week and have disappeared (essentially).
Wow, these winners are PRO's. Awesome.
There is not any argument I will agree with that names of lottery winners should be released.
Congrats to the lucky couple.
Finally the mystery is solved
NEXT!
In California a big winner in Powerball or Megamillions has 12 months to file a claim. Once the ticket has been validated by the CA Lottery Commission the winner has 60 days to choose lump sum or yearly payments for... I think it is 30 years. Other states only allow 60 days from the drawing date, but not CA. The CA lottery has the winner fill out a form indicating lump sum or yearly payments. If a winner does not fill out this form within the 60 days then it automatically goes to the yearly payment schedule.
Congratulations to the WINNERS Spend Wisely
They will do very well with their blessing. They took their time to find all the ends and outs. This isn't the first couple to wait 6 months to claim a big Jack. Back about 5 years ago a couple in Illinois waited a week before the ticket was to expire to cash in 100 millions dollar meg a million ticket.
Congratulations!! May you enjoy your new lives in peace and luxury.
Congrats to the winners. Enjoy the blessings.
Thanks for showing potential winners how to claim without making a circus out of it.
Congrats to the recent mega millions winners in washington....best time to win
Republican convention and powerball winners coming forward.....and the jackpot is "small"
Ok I can see waiting to get ypur ducks in a row, if I ever win that's what I will do, but six months... nah 1 month si weeks max for me.
I really wish People/Idiots would stop talking about the TN couple the way they did things, I guess none of you can or didn't bother to read the entire story about what happened, and you've never lived in the Southern States! This Family Trusted the wrong Lawyer (his Daughter worked @ a Newspaper) The Lawyer was only trying to further Himself & his Daughter, She told the Paper she worked @ and the Media who the winners were probably before the couple left her Dads office because he told her too! People in the South are Different Down to Earth, Hard working, Trustworthy and a Handshake is the same as a written Contract, they only played Lotto on occasion they had no idea what the Lawyer was doing to them!
To the moron that said oh they said their home was fine an were going to keep living their, That's what their plan was, I'm sure they Had to move onto a big Secluded Farm to be safe!
ARTIST77 PLEASE DON'T THINK OR TALK ABOUT PEOPLE YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!!!!
SORRY BUT I CAN'T WAIT TO CASH IN MY WINNING TICKET!! Yes I will get Trusts set up, but I've been in a wheelchair an unable to work for 10 Yrs now and there's a lot of things I need, I worked very hard all my Life and made Good Money, then Boom my entire life changed & I lost everything!!!
I am so sorry to hear about you being in a wheelchair for the past ten years. You make some good points. Just remember that we are are entertaining ourselves here at Lottery Post. Do not take us too seriously. We are not writing legal briefs here.
I hope you win soon. Enjoy the show.
Thank You, Todd Northrop and the crew for bringing us this wonderful story. My life would be so boring without Lottery Post and USAMEGA.
LP Members do add a lot to our lives.
Congrats to the lucky winners.
I don't know about waiting 6 months. I'd hit up one of the wealth management companies immediately and let them determine how long it would take to get everything set up. They had the right idea about selling their house and disappearing though. I'd probably spend a year or two somewhere foreign until the hype died down then find a place to live close to my current location so I don't lose touch with my friends and family.
Congrats to the Acosta family!
It is nice that they are in a position to disappear. I, unfortunately, would not have that option! Owning a business you just can't walk away, it is business as usual.
Hire a business manager when it happens.
Sure you can, Hang a sign on the door that says "Gone Fishing. We are closed permanently." Pay all of you employees 6 mos-1 year of severance and be done.
Maybe I missed it, but does anyone know how many games were on the ticket that had the winning numbers on it? Was it a single game purchase or multi-game?
The news didn't say how many tickets they bought for the $1.6 bil drawing.
Anyone have any info on that?
If someone has been in business for a long time it would be quite unethical to simply shut your doors without at least mentioning it to your most loyal customers. I think a month to 6-weeks notice that you are closing up won't hurt anything and plus it would give you time to get your financial plan in order prior to redeeming your ticket.
You can always tell your customers that you need to be closer to family/relatives who need your help. Employees as you mentioned can easily be compensated with an attractive severance package.
Not knowing what kind of business you own, it's hard to make a comment.
You could, if you chose, have one of your (trusted) employees take over running the business for you. Or, depending on the size of your win, you could turn the business over to the employees and make them owner / operators. This way the business stays open and all of the employees can keep their jobs.
Other than those choices, I will side with the majority and say give the employees a nice severance bonus and close up shop....after getting your ducks in a row, that is.
You will have your new-found wealth to occupy your time and you won't want to be tied down to a business....no matter how much you like it now. Things will change after the money hits your bank account.
You are right it would be highly unethical to walk out the door. It is different if you have a job and work for someone else. Besides that knowing my DH he would just expand!! LOL!!
"Maybe after seeing the foolish Tennessee winners, they were super cautious."
How about telling us how brilliant you were when you won your multi-million jackpot so we can all learn from your wisdom.
In the last couple of years, LP has more and more "experts" forgetting they won nothing and ragging on winners who only paid a $1 or $2 for their multi-million winning prize. We even have members arguing about spending winnings none of them ever won.
I think she was referencing the term "foolish" on the TN winners doing the morning shows as well as giving numerous interviews prior to even redeeming the ticket so please cut her some slack.
and you are the only one that can run it. why would you want to or if you do why play the lottery then. like those clods in tennessee. the only problem i have with them was their insistence on going back to their menial jobs at a now 40% income tax rate for them. that's why some of us are calling them out for not playing with a full deck. also that chicken shack they lived in (seemingly they have changed their minds on that) was going to continue to be their residence. they just incurred the wrath in some of us. it's their money (yes) and they can do what they want but it just wasn't or isn't logical.
When I win, I am going to have a suggestion box forum on LP.
People like those you speak about (of which I am one now) will write and give me ideas on how to spend my new found wealth.
TheMeatman2005, I am stealing your idea of a suggestion box forum. But might just do a blog forum.
No problem music*. Just don't forget to pay me royalties on my idea!
That is...if you win before I do!
I agree!! And at the time everyone on here thought it was "foolish" for them to go to New York before they had even claimed the ticket!! That could have had disastrous results.
Are you kidding me? Get a life. We all will add our two cents about the couple from Tennessee. And by the way, I live in the South and my family goes back to the founding days of both Virginia and Kentucky.
The couple were idiots so please do not make all southerners sound like morons. Grow up. When people seek media attention like they did, people will comment. This is a lottery forum.
it's only when a winner does something against the curve that some of us on here can comment negatively on. it's a lottery story. it would be boring if every winner either formed a trust, or did everything by the book and spent some but not lavishly, saved the rest. if these tennessee folks went out and bought a couple of lear jets, a dozen luxury autos, a mansion for each of them, then they'd be getting bashed for ripping through it without foresight. when someone stays within the happy median range then there's no story. the jack whittaker story was textbook interesting. the old woman in florida not so.
However the Tennessee couple did provide a lesson on what not to do and the Chino Hills couple made sure they called the shots.
Very true. Stack is just being a troll as usual. And how many people commented about the poor choices of the Tennessee couple? Check that thread out. And I guess he forgot Todd wrote a story on lottery veterans questioning their choices?
Well I am financially comfortable and did not wait for a lottery to do it for me.
well, hopefully we can get back to that record breaking jackpot in about 5 more draws...$1.5 billion range!!!!!
But I doubt we will get there....I think it will be won somewhere in the $450-460 million range
Thanks, Suzy-Dittlenose, for researching and then explaining the California hub bub ... you're a wonderfully kind and speedy resource!
I NEVER SAID AND NEVER WILL SAY SOUTHERNERS ARE MORONS, YOU NEED TO RE-READ WHAT I WROTE!!! I Lived and raised my Children in KY, I still have Family and Friends there! I Loved Living back their, PLEASE RE-READ WHAT I WROTE!!! Don't tell me to GROW UP or GET A LIFE, by the way I have a T-Shirt that SAYS those exact words on it! So Get over it already!!
HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!!
Thank You music*, I have always said the same thing about Judging others, you have no idea what kind of LIFE they've lived or what they been though!!! Yes I hope I win very soon, I do plan on sharing a lot when I do!
I do APOLOGIZE if I hurt someone's feelings, I'm Very Sorry I would Never Intentionally do that I Never have and never would, I am Just really tired of everyone complaining about how the People in TN did things after they WON, like I said read their entire story and you'll know the choices came from their Lawyer not them!!! Unless I read a completely different story then everybody else????
-a cash option of $327.8 before taxes- And after taxes they may be left with a couple hundred dollars!
If I won a huge jackpot.I would not waste any time,get the ducks in a row,get a trust let my lawyer pick up the doe,an get it over with.Wait 6 months nope a lot of things can happen in 6months.The upper rooom.LOL.
I'm guessing the author of the article could have inserted "million" after $327.8 to clear things up for you. The headline did mention "co-winners of $1.6B".
Looks like a perfect set up for yourself. I assume the little door is for a Golf cart.
Looks nice; however would pay this place off on about 1.7 acres in KY.
After training @ work, took the short trip to Indiana and played Powerball through 3 AUG 16, they're still #1 in top Powerball winners even just barely. Then went to that darn casino and let's not go there.
I'm with you I don't want to live in a Neighborhood where you & your neighbor's can wave to each other though the windows! Not only that price wise in KY you could buy a big farm w/house, barn & out buildings for what they PD for that home (which is very nice looking, hope in gated community) in CA! (the little door is a 1 car garage) I sure do miss our farm in KY!
I agree with you also on the casino part when I was able to work My Mom Loved going to the casino's so I always took her when she was up to going, I may as well have just thrown my $ out the car window on our way, yet my Mom could put &20.00 in a machine and play off that all day & come home with more then she took!
Congratulations to them of taking the cash value!
Congrats to Marvin and Mae. I was just wondering if Marvin and Mae were there at that 7- Eleven store in Chino Hills, on January 13, celebrating with everyone, for one of the winners of that $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot. It would be interesting to find out.
I highly doubt it.