Altadena shop owner happy $2B winner is regular patron
California Lottery officials on Tuesday identified Edwin Castro as the winner of November's record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot, and the business owner who sold it to him couldn't be happier for his frequent customer.
Castro purchased the ticket at
Joe's Service Center in Altadena. Owner Joe Chahayed received a bonus of $1 million for selling the winning ticket, which he said has gone toward college funds for his grandchildren.
Castro declined to appear at a news conference in Sacramento announcing the winner. Instead, he sent a statement expressing how stunned he was, but also his support of how the Lottery helps fund public education.
“As much as I am shocked and ecstatic to have won the Powerball drawing, the real winner is the California public school system,” he said. “The mission of the California Lottery, which is to provide supplemental funding for California public education — both public schools and colleges — makes this a huge win for the state. As someone who received the rewards of being educated in the California public education system, it's gratifying to hear that, as a result of my win, the California school system greatly benefits as well.”
Under California law, the only thing state lottery officials had to release was the winner's name, officials said, citing the need to preserve privacy, a fact even more pronounced given the sheer magnitude of the jackpot.
“We care about our winners' privacy,” said Carolyn Becker, California Lottery spokeswoman. “Nobody's ever won $2 billion before.”
In this case, officials — trying to balance transparency and privacy — released the name now, even though the winner had a full year to claim the prize. Cas
tro was aware his name was being released, Becker said.
Castro had a choice between a lump sum or 30 annual payments. He chose a lump sum, which amounts to $997.6 million.
According to Chahayed — or Papa Joe as he’s known to neighborhood regulars — Joe’s Service Station has increased threefold since November and has seen a handful of $1,000-plus prizes in that time.
Pasadena resident Bruce Nolte dodged camera crews and other customers in the small shop Tuesday to buy a few Lotto tickets.
While he’s too unlucky to play regularly, Nolte said he had to stop into Joe’s, partly out of curiosity and partly because of its reputation for winning.
“It’s kind of mind blowing that it’s this close to where you live,” he said. “This will turn my life around.”
If he wins, Nolte said he’d buy a home in Carmel.
Lottery officials did not disclose where Castro lives — or lived — noting that someone who purchased a winning ticket in California does not have to be a resident of the state.
But Chahayed said Tuesday he was glad that the winner is a local, adding that Castro has stopped in regularly.
After more than 30 years in business at that location, he said his love for the people in the neighborhood keeps him at the front counter, despite his big payout for selling the winning ticket.
Now he’s seeing more people than ever.
“When someone like Joe sells a ticket that’s publicized around the world, I have 100% confidence his business picked up,” Becker said.