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Winners Of Record Powerball Ticket Sold In Southern California Finally Come Forward
It could happen to you. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Months after speculation and false alarms, the winners of a $528.8 million Powerball ticket sold in Chino Hills have finally come forward.California Lottery officials dropped the news on social media, announcing the local winners of the split jackpot as Marvin and Mae Acosta:
Big #Powerball news from the #CALottery! pic.twitter.com/bJYlGEiDRA
— California Lottery (@calottery) July 19, 2016
No other details were provided about the couple, who decided to stay away from the limelight, unlike the Tennessee family who had another winning ticket in the record $1.58 billion jackpot, and the Florida couple who had the third winning ticket.
"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 advisers 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. Like the other winners, the Acostas have opted for the lump sum payment of $327.8 million, reports the The Daily Bulletin.
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Through lottery officials, the Acostas released the following statement:
We are thankful and blessed for the rare gift that has been placed in our care. We have engaged a team of advisers to educate and guide us through this process so that we can be good stewards of these new resources. 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. 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. Thank you.
The winning ticket was sold at a 7-Eleven in Chino Hills, and in the ensuing Powerball fever several false reports of winners came out, including a nurse who was pranked by her own terrible son and a man who shared the name of the supposed winner from a fake news story.
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