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Owner Of Store That Sold $1 Billion Lottery Ticket Reacts To Winning $1 Million

Screenshot/ABC7

Matthew Xiao Contributor
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A downtown Los Angeles mini-market owner won $1 million for being the retailer who sold the winning Powerball ticket, worth a staggering $1.08 billion, according to ABC7.

Nabor Herrera, owner of the Las Palmitas Mini Market, reportedly sold the ticket Wednesday night but didn’t find out until Thursday morning when he arrived at his store to a media frenzy, the outlet reported. 

Herrera, who hails from Mexico, told the outlet that he has run the store for around seven years and has plenty of customers who buy lottery tickets every day. He plans on using the money to invest in new stores and go on vacation with his wife and their four children, ABC7 noted.  

Lottery officials gave Herrera his $1 million check during Thursday’s press conference, but the identity of the winning Powerball ticket holder remains a mystery, per ABC7. The lucky ticket holder has up to a year to claim the prize.

“We’re standing here today wondering if the person who bought the ticket even realizes it yet. We won’t know at the lottery, the public won’t know, until somebody comes forward and claims that prize,” said Carolyn Becker, a spokesperson for the California Lottery, according to the outlet.

The winning numbers were 7, 13, 10, 24, and 11, with the Powerball being 24. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million, according to CNN. (RELATED: Man Claims Mega Millions Prize After Alleged Theft Of Winning Ticket)

The $1.08 billion jackpot is sixth largest in U.S. history, and the winner can choose between receiving the full amount in yearly installments over 29 years or a lump sum of $558.1 million, both before taxes.