The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES—An eye-popping and unprecedented Powerball jackpot, whose rise to $1.6 billion became a national fascination, will be split three ways.
The winners’ identities remain a mystery but they bought their tickets in Florida, Tennessee, and an L.A. suburb where even lottery losers were celebrating yesterday that such heady riches were won in their modest city.
The winners of the world-record jackpot overcame odds of 1-in-292.2 million to land on the numbers drawn last night (4-8-19-27-34 and Powerball 10).
They can take the winnings in annual payments spread over decades or a smaller amount in a lump sum.
The California ticket was sold at a 7-Eleven in Chino Hills, Calif., lottery spokesman Alex Traverso told The Associated Press.
The winning ticket in Tennessee was sold in Munford, north of Memphis, according to a news release from lottery officials in that state.
The winning Florida ticket was sold at a Publix grocery store in Melbourne Beach.
The California store and its surrounding strip mall immediately became a popular gathering spot in the usually quiet suburb of 75,000 people.
Hundreds of people—from news crews to gawkers—crowded the store and spilled into its parking lot.
They cheered and mugged for TV cameras as if it were New Year’s Eve or a sporting event.
Many chanted, “Chino Hills! Chino Hills!” in celebration of the city.
“It’s history. We’re all so excited for our city,” Rita Talwar, 52, who has lived in Chino Hills for 30 years, told the local newspaper, the San Bernardino Sun.
Some took selfies with the store clerk on duty, who became an instant celebrity and may well have been the man who sold the ticket after being on duty for much of the run-up to last night’s draw.
“I’m very proud that the ticket was sold here,” the clerk, M. Faroqui, told the Sun.
“I’m very happy. This is very exciting.”
The 7-Eleven will get a $1 million bonus for selling the winning ticket, Traverso noted.
The estimated jackpot amounts had risen steadily since Nov. 4, when it was reset at $40 million.
