Featured Image Credit: FOX11/GIORGIO VIERA / Contributor
Topics: US News, Weird, Money, Los Angeles
Katherine Sidnell
Topics: US News, Weird, Money, Los Angeles
Nips to the shop often end in overspending but one man landed a huge windfall after picking up a lottery ticket for $1 billion.
The Powerball jackpot was sold at the Las Palmitas Mini Market, in Southern California on 19 July, with the lucky winner’s life changing forever.
However, they aren’t the only one benefiting from the big win as the store owner is also set to receive their own windfall.
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It’s thanks to a strange loophole in the Golden State, which gives the retailer 0.5 percent share of the prize fund – up to $1 million dollars.
Despite the sum being drastically lower than the main prize winner, it’s still a huge sum for store owner Raul Nabor Herrera.
The dad-of-four has owned the shop for seven years and is already planning to take his children on holiday to Cancun with the unexpected winnings.
He added that he would also try to make a ‘good investment and said he believed that the lottery winner was a local person.
Surprisingly though, Herrera had no idea until the world’s media decided to descend on the Las Palmitas Mini Market.
Speaking about the win on KKTV, the businessman said: “It’s a surprise for me… I don’t know what it is, filming or what.”
Whilst the store owner happily spoke to the news crew as they crammed into the small store, the recipient of the Powerball Jackpot has yet to come forward.
Herrera has his own theories on the lucky winner, suspecting that it could be a local person from the downtown LA area.
Though people are still hunting for the main prize winner, a further five tickets have been identified as winners in the district.
However, the lucky lottery plays should be aware of one key factor: tax.
In California, all winning sums will be taxed even if you take out gradual payments over a 29-year period.
Currently, the Golden State get to take roughly 24 percent of the overall earnings from the Powerball win.
“The biggest thing is to do nothing,” revealed John Loyd, who is a certified financial planner.
He added: “Let the emotions and overwhelming feelings subside before making any decision.”
Even with tax deductions though, the prize winner can take a lump sum worth over $558.1 million.
Not bad for nipping to the shop, given the chance of winning is an estimated 1 in 302 million.