Store co-owner Nidal Khalil, center, goes over the previous day’s lottery ticket sales with nephew Chris Khalil, left, and son Jonathan Khalil, right, at the Midway Market & Liquor store.Photo:AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
The still-unidentified Powerball winner in Southern California this week isn’t the only person reaping the benefits of the$1.76 billion jackpot— the owners of the liquor store where the winning ticket was purchased will too.
Khali told thePostthat he was stunned when he found out one of his customers won. “I didn’t even believe it at first,” he added, sharing that he thinks it’s the “biggest thing that’s ever happened at Frazier Park” — a small community of about 2,500 people in Kern County, located about an hour outside of Los Angeles.
The Syrian man — who came to California in 1992, according to theLos Angeles Times—told thePosthe hopes the winner is one of his “regular customers because we have a few who buy tickets every day.”
“After 30 years of selling those tickets, we need a winner,” he told the newspaper. The community is mostly made up of retirees and veterans, reported theAssociated Press.
While lottery rules on claiming prizes vary from state to state, allowing some winners to remain anonymous — in California, the lucky player will eventually have to reveal their name.
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The single ticket matched all six numbers drawn: white balls 22, 24, 40, 52, 64 and red Powerball 10. The Power Play multiplier was 2X.
According to theTimes, the win at Khalil’s store is the third billion-dollar jackpot won in Southern California in the last year and the second-largest Powerball prize in history.
source: people.com
