Quantcast
Channel: Breaking News
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 5026

Small Florida city wonders who won Powerball jackpot

$
0
0
By News staff

ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. (AP) -- Some lucky person walked into a Publix supermarket in suburban Florida over the past few days and bought a ticket now worth an estimated $590.5 million -- the highest Powerball jackpot in history.

But it wasn't Matthew Bogel. On Sunday, he loaded groceries into his car after shopping at the Publix. He shook his head when asked about the jackpot.

"It's crazy, isn't it?" he said. "That's so much money."

Whoever has the ticket hadn't come forward as of Sunday morning. But plenty of people in Zephyrhills -- population 13,337 -- are wondering whether it's someone they know.

Joan Albertson drove over to the Publix early Sunday morning with her camera in hand, just in case the winner emerged. She said she had bought a ticket at a store across the street, and the idea of winning that much money was still something of a shock.

"Oh, there's so much good that you could do with that amount of money." Albertson said. "I don't even know where to begin.

Zephyrhills is a small city in Pasco County, about 30 miles northeast of downtown Tampa. Once a rural farming town, it's now known as a hotbed for skydiving activity, and the home to large retiree mobile home parks and Zephyrhills bottled water.

And now, one lucky lottery ticket.

"I'm getting text messages and messages from Facebook going, 'uh, did you win the lottery?"' Sandra Lewis said. "No, I didn't win, guys. Sorry."

With four out of every five possible combinations of Powerball numbers in play, lottery executives said Saturday that someone was almost certain to win the game's highest jackpot, a windfall of hundreds of millions of dollars -- and that's after taxes.

The winning numbers were 10, 13, 14, 22 and 52, with a Powerball of 11.

Estimates had earlier put the jackpot at around $600 million. But Powerball's online site said Sunday that the jackpot had reached an estimated $590.5 million.

The world's largest jackpot was a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot in March 2012.

Lewis, who went to the Publix on Sunday to buy water, said she didn't play -- and she isn't upset about it.

"Life goes on," she said, shrugging. "I'm good."


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 5026

Trending Articles