$768 Million Powerball Winner Wants To ‘Help Out The World’
A 24-year-old man from West Allis in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been revealed as the winner of a record $768 million Powerball jackpot. Manuel Franco came forward to speak at a press conference on Tuesday and fielded questions on what it was like to receive the biggest prize on a single Powerball ticket in the history of the game.
Franco matched the numbers 16, 20, 37, 44 and 62, plus the Powerball 12, in the draw on Wednesday 27th March. Speculation about the identity of the winner then remained rife for a few weeks until he was ready to claim his prize and share his story, as Wisconsin law prohibits players from staying anonymous.
Recalling how he had bought ten tickets for the big drawing from a Speedway on Beloit Road in New Berlin, Franco said that he had felt unusually lucky even before the results came in. He described: “It’s a weird feeling, not natural at all.”
When he heard later on that the jackpot had been won in Wisconsin, he thought he was in with a chance and so checked the Powerball numbers online. “I looked at the first number, I see that second number and my heart starts to pump. I’m like ‘No fricking way’. I looked at the Powerball number and it matched. At this point it was going insane. I don’t want to embarrass myself on live TV, but it was amazing, my heart was pumping, my blood felt warm.”
Win 'Feels Like A Dream'
Admitting that he ‘screamed for about five to ten minutes’, Franco said that he also began to feel paranoid that the whole world was after him, before he gradually started to formulate a plan of what to do. He did not come forward straight away because he wanted to get legal and financial advice, and he has now hired a team to help him invest the money wisely.
One thing he has already done is quit his job. He said he tried to act as if everything was normal the day after the draw but found it too difficult. “I pretty much never showed up for work again,” said Franco, who refused to be drawn on what it was he did for a living.
Having decided to take a lump sum payment of $477 million rather than an annuity, he is not sure what he will do with the money but knows that he wants to make a valuable contribution to society. He explained: “I want to take a break to let it sink in and I do want to help out the world, but I have to do it correctly and make sure my future is secure.”
Franco added that he still had not fully come to terms with what had happened, saying: “To win feels something like a dream and I feel like at any moment I might wake up. I just can’t believe an ordinary guy like me would ever be in this position. As a winner now, I don’t plan on playing any more. But, I will say that the two-dollar ticket you buy is worth the chance to change your life forever. It certainly has changed my life and I look forward to the future.”
Biggest Winners
The only time a larger Powerball jackpot has been won was back in January 2016, when a top prize of $1.58 billion was up for grabs. On that occasion there were three winners, from California, Florida and Tennessee, who each scooped $528 million before taxes.
Massachusetts resident Mavis Wanczyk had previously taken home the biggest Powerball prize ever won on a single ticket, $758 million. An anonymous player from South Carolina won $1.5 billion on the other major multi-state game, Mega Millions, last October, although she waited several months to come forward.
The latest win is the largest ever seen in Wisconsin. A group of co-workers from a cheese company had held the previous state record after winning $208 million in August 2006. They dubbed themselves the ‘100 Miracles’ as all 100 members of the lottery pool had rubbed a Buddha statue for good luck prior to the big win.
Wisconsin has now had 17 Powerball jackpot winners, making it one of the seven most successful states in the game. Find out where and when the next jackpot is won by looking at the Powerball numbers after every draw.