- The resident of Oxnard, California, preferred to collect the prize from him in a single exhibition
On July 13, Silvestre Zarate entered a liquor store in Oxnard, California, with the purpose of buying a cold drink to quench his thirst and that’s when he decided to simply try his luck in that night’s lottery.
In this way, fortune smiled on the subject of Latin origin who ended up matching the six numbers that proclaimed him the winner of the SuperLotto Plus jackpot and with it a sum of $27 million dollars.
“I could not believe what I was seeing! I almost fainted. I am very grateful for this award,” the Ventura County resident said the day he showed up to collect the award from him.
From that moment, Zarate acknowledged that he was clear that most of the prize would go to the education of his daughter.
“I will only use part of the money for the necessary things in my life, and I will give the rest to my daughter for her education, university and her future,” he said.
Zarate also told California Lottery officials that he only occasionally bought tickets and that he didn’t expect to win, so he didn’t even think about the drawing that night when he got home.
The next day, hearing several people talking about someone in Southern California having won the jackpot, he then immediately checked his ticket.
“I could not believe what I was seeing! I almost passed out,” he described.
Unlike other winners who prefer to get the most money in deferred payments over the years, Zarate chose the lump-sum cash option and will receive $15.2 million before federal taxes.
It should be noted that SuperLotto Plus draws take place twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.