Recently, the owner of a small shop in California has been applauded for his role in facilitating the largest lottery win in the state's history.
Joseph Chahayed, the proprietor of Joe's Service Center in Altadena, Los Angeles, has received a $1 million bonus from the California Lottery for selling the winning ticket for the staggering $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot.
In August 2022, a California lottery jackpot started getting very large because no one had won it for a long time.
In November 2022, an anonymous person bought a winning ticket from a store called Chahayed's. This prize was the biggest ever won in California's lottery history and one of the largest lottery payouts in the world.
He expressed his appreciation and encouraged people to buy lottery tickets from his store, saying they could also become winners.
The shop owner's son, Danny, praised his father's hard work and dedication, stating that "there's no one else who deserves it more than this man.
He's worked hard his whole life. He deserves every bit of it."
Chahayed plans to share his new wealth with his family, including his 11 grandchildren. He believes this unexpected big win can greatly change his and his family's lives.
While the overall jackpot was a staggering $2.04 billion, the winner will receive a lump sum of $997.6 million or the option to receive the money in installments.
According to reports, the odds of matching all five numbers are an astronomical 1 in 292.2 million, highlighting the rarity of such a colossal win.
The California Lottery's announcement on Twitter promises to bring 'a whole lot of LOVE' to the state's education system, as a portion of the lottery's proceeds are dedicated to funding public schools.
The Mega Millions lottery jackpot winner, referred to as John Doe in court documents, is facing a lawsuit for allegedly reneging on his promise to share his $1.35 billion windfall with his family.
John Doe won the $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot and received a lump sum payment of around $500 million after taxes.
However, the joy of this monumental win soon turned into a into a nightmare.
The lawsuit started when John Doe's daughter's mother, Sara Smith, was sued by Doe for breaking a non-disclosure agreement by revealing his win to his family.
Smith's lawyers later forced Doe to admit that he himself had informed his father and stepmother about the lottery win.
Doe's father, a former police chief now in his 70s, stated in a sworn declaration that his son had misled the family about the lottery win.
He said Doe had promised to build a garage, buy him a car to fix up, and even buy back the house Doe had grown up in.
Doe also promised to set up a $1 million fund for his parents and provide them with 24-hour care if needed.
After being sued, the relationship between Doe and his father became strained. The father also revealed that Doe had requested that he and his wife not contact Smith, the mother of Doe's daughter.
