LA Powerball Winner: 'I'm a Little Sad'

So close. That was the general feeling of a man who bought a Powerball ticket in Pacoima and came one number short of winning a share of the $1.6 billion jackpot.

Arturo Velasquez was identified by the California Lottery as one of 12 people in the state who matched five numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, but missed the Powerball number of 10.

“I’m a little sad. I wanted to win it all,” Velasquez said in an interview with Lottery officials.

The news wasn’t all bad for Velasquez, who still won $638,146 for matching the numbers 4, 8, 19, 27 and 34.

He bought his ticket at Eden Roc Liquor, 13404 Van Nuys Blvd. in Pacoima.

According to Lottery officials, there were 11 other similar tickets sold in California. Several were sold in Southern California -- in Santa Monica, Tustin, Gardena, Irwindale, Chula Vista, Redlands, Nipton, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Vacaville and Cloverdale.

One jackpot-winning ticket was sold in California, at the 7-Eleven at 4092 Chino Hills Parkway in Chino Hills. The holder of that ticket will share a $1.586 billion jackpot with winners in Florida and Tennessee, lottery officials announced late Wednesday.

The owner of that ticket from Chino Hills remains unidentified.

A large and jubilant crowd began packing the Chino Hills 7-Eleven shortly after the news broke, spilling into the parking lot and whooping it up late into the night for TV news cameras. Many chanted “Chino Hills! Chino Hills!”

The 7-Eleven received $1 million for selling the winning ticket.

Each third of the jackpot is worth $528.8 million if taken over 30 years, or $327.8 million if taken as a one-time payment. That’s before federal and state taxes, however, which combined can exceed 40 percent of the total.

The Powerball game is played in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, but California leads the country in Powerball ticket sales.

City News Service