California’s Edwin Castro Claims Record Powerball Jackpot
Tuesday February 14th 2023Californian Powerball player Edwin Castro has been revealed as the winner of the $2.04 billion jackpot from November 7.
Powerball fans have been waiting for news of the big winner for more than three months, and the California Lottery finally confirmed on Monday that an announcement was on the way to mark Valentine’s Day.
The new billionaire was not in attendance themselves, having turned down the chance to take questions from the press, but their identity had to be disclosed due to the state’s Open Records law.
The California Lottery said that Castro had taken the cash option of $997.6 million, rather than the advertised $2.04 billion as annual payments over 29 years.
The World’s First $2 Billion Jackpot
Castro’s huge pay day was the second Powerball jackpot won in California in 2022, after Orlando Zavala Lozano split half of a $632 million prize with Tammy and Cliff Webster from Wisconsin in January.
It was also the world’s first $2 billion jackpot, building on a number of big wins over the last few years that have been worth more than $1 billion.
The first 10-figure jackpot came back in January 2016, when Powerball soared to $1.586 billion before three ticket holders grabbed a share of the cash.
Mega Millions has also created several wins of more than $1 billion, including one just last month when a player from Maine pocketed $1.35 billion.
The record jackpots have all happened since Powerball and Mega Millions changed formats, which altered the odds of winning.
A third weekly draw was also introduced to Powerball in August 2021, giving players another chance to take part and helping the jackpot to grow more quickly from draw to draw.
More records are sure to fall in time, and it could even be that Castro’s $2 billion mark is broken within the next few months. The only way to have a chance of becoming the next big winner is to pick up a ticket.
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