A Super Lotto Plus ticket worth $61 million was sold in an Anaheim 7-Eleven, lottery officials said -- the first big win for the store.
The ticket containing the winning numbers -- 1, 6, 13, 45, 47 and mega-number 16 -- was sold at the 7-Eleven at 1685 W. Katella Ave.
"We opened 18 months ago and we've sold tickets worth $50 and $100, but nothing like this," said Balwinder Singh, owner of the Anaheim 7-Eleven. This is the first store Singh has operated after working as a 7-Eleven employee for 16 years.
Singh found out about the winning ticket at 9 p.m. Saturday night via a phone call from lottery officials. Right after, Singh called his wife and kids. Then, he called back the California Lottery office to confirm the news.
"I called the Lotto to make sure it was real, but they were closed," Singh said. But, the news was confirmed when Lotto officials arrived at 8 a.m. Sunday with banners and signs for the store announcing "Millionaire made here."
Singh says his store usually sells 200-300 tickets a day and he expects the win will increase sales. He also hopes that the winner is one of the weekly Lotto customers who visit his store.
"I hope it's a regular customer, so far no one has said anything yet," Singh said.
The person can claim the ticket as early as 8 a.m. Monday. Winners have 180 days to claim their prize. The store owner will get half of 1 percent of the winnings, or about $350,000. Singh said the money given to the store will go to 7-Eleven.
The California Lottery will ask the winner if they want to talk about their winnings, said California Lottery spokesperson Kelly Kell.
"About half the time the winner wants to keep it quiet," Kell said. "Other winners view it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Kell said the ticket winner can choose either a lump sum to be paid out over 26 years, or a cash option for $38.1 million. There is no California state tax on Lotto winnings. The federal tax on the winnings is 25 percent for United States residents and 30 percent for non-residents.
This is the seventh Super Lotto Plus jackpot won this year. This jackpot started at $7 million on April 20, growing each week until a winning ticket was sold, Kell said. Ticket sales for Saturday's Super Lotto Plus draw totaled $5,942,700. Odds of matching all 5 Super Lotto Plus numbers and the mega number is 1 in 41,416,353.
There were also seven Super Lotto Plus second-tier winning tickets sold along with the winning Anaheim ticket. These tickets matched 5 numbers correctly but failed to match the mega number. Each ticket is worth $12,734. Those tickets were sold in Laguna Beach, Poway, Chula Vista, Rowland Heights, Carmichael, Canyon Country and Rosamond. The Laguna Beach ticket was sold at Coast Liquor, 1391 South Coast Highway.
The last Super Lotto Plus jackpot won in Anaheim was $87 million in July 1999 to Salvador Gonzalez, who bought the ticket at Kelly's Mini Mart.
The largest Super Lotto Plus jackpot won was $193 million sold in February 2002. Three tickets won and split the jackpot (for $64 million each) and were sold in Orange, Half Moon Bay and Montebello.
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