The owner of the California deli that sold the sole jackpot winning Powerball ticket on Saturday calls the win “unbelievable.”
Matthew Alberre owns Marietta Liquor & Deli in southern California's Riverside County with his father, Alberre Alberre. The deli sold the winning ticket for Saturday’s $447.8 million grand prize drawing, the 10th largest lottery prize in U.S. history.
“It’s a very good feeling to be the winning store,” Matthew Alberre told NBC News on Sunday, adding that they feel “blessed” for playing a role in the win.
He said locals are “shocked and surprised” at the news, and that many have already come into the shop to buy more lottery tickets (of course, the next jackpot was only a paltry $40 million as of Sunday afternoon because of the big win).
In California, retailers receive a $1 million retailer bonus for selling the winning ticket. The owners of Marietta Deli have not yet received information about the prize, and told the Associated Press they don’t know what they will do with the money.
The largest lottery jackpot in U.S. was just in January of last year, when three winners split a total of $1.8 billion. John and Lisa Robinson from Munford, Tennessee took home $528.8 million, and have since bought a $6.2 million house in the Tennessee countryside with 10 bedrooms and a private lake, according to a local FOX affiliate.
Gloria MacKenzie from Zephyrhills, Florida won the largest single jackpot in American lottery history, worth $590 million, in June 2013. After the win, the 84-year-old traded her rental unit for a five-bedroom home in a gated golf course community in Jacksonville, Tampa Bay Times reported.
Related: Florida Winners of Historic $1.58B Powerball Jackpot Revealed
The odds of winning Saturday’s drawing were only one in 292.2 million, according to Powerball. The winner has a year to come forward and claim the prize, and can choose to cash in a prize of $279.1 million or to receive the full amount in installments over 29 years.
