The Golden State, California, has seen two billion-dollar Powerball winners within the same month, with Yanira Alvarez becoming one of them. Alvarez purchased the winning $1.08 billion Powerball ticket at Las Palmitas Mini Market in Los Angeles, with the winning numbers being 7, 10, 11, 13, 24, and the red Powerball 24. Alvarez’s win ended a long jackpot run for Powerball and was the first of two billion-dollar winning tickets sold in California, with Theo Struyck being the other winner. California state law requires jackpot winners to be named along with their location, but Alvarez declined to make any public comments after her win.
Before Alvarez was revealed as the winner, the Las Palmitas Mini Market owners believed the winner was an elderly woman who lived near the store. The store, located in downtown Los Angeles’ Fashion District, has been owned by Maria Menjiva and her family since 2017. Alvarez had the option of taking the $1.08 billion prize in 30 annual payments or through a one-time cash value, choosing the latter option of $558.1 million before federal taxes. The California Lottery Director thanked players for their support in benefiting public schools through Powerball jackpot prizes.
Alvarez’s $1.08 billion win was the third-largest prize in Powerball’s history at the time of the drawing, but now sits in fourth place after Theo Struyck’s $1.765 billion win. Struyck’s winning ticket was sold at a different store, Midway Market & Liquor in Frazier Park, California, approximately 81 miles away from Las Palmitas Mini Market. The California lottery uses proceeds from its drawings to raise funds for public schools in the state, with last year’s back-to-back jackpot wins leading to an estimated $197.9 million in additional funding. The Golden State has claimed at least a share of the four largest Powerball jackpot wins in the lottery’s history.
In 2016, three tickets in California, Florida, and Texas all matched all six numbers to win a $1.586 billion prize, the first to be over $1 billion at the time. Currently, Powerball’s grand prize is set at an estimated $935 million with a cash value of $452.5 million, with the next drawing scheduled for Saturday evening at 11 p.m. Despite the large jackpot wins in California, the state is not the record holder for the largest Powerball prize, which belongs to Edwin Castro’s $2.04 billion win in November 2022. The state of California continues to see significant Powerball winnings, generating excitement and funds for public schools through the lottery.
