Twenty four year-old Manuel Franco of West Allis collected his $768.4 million Powerball jackpot winnings on Tuesday afternoon describing to reporters the day he bought the winning ticket.
"I pretty much felt lucky," Franco said.
Franco who spent $10 on Powerball tickets after finishing work on March 27th didn't get round to checking the tickets on the evening of the draw and went to work the next day oblivious to the fact he had just won the third-largest lottery jackpot in the world.
At work rumors were spreading quickly that the jackpot had been hit in Wisconsin so when Franco got home he couldn't wait to check his ten tickets revealing firstly a $4 win for matching the Powerball and then nothing until he checked the last ticket that matched the magical $768.4 million numbers.
"I don't want to embarrass myself on live TV but, what I can explain. It was amazing. My heart started racing, blood pumping. My blood felt warm. Screamed for about five or ten minutes. Good thing my neighbors didn't hear," Franco said.
Franco who beat odds of 1 in 292.2 million with the winning numbers 16, 20, 37, 44, 62 and Powerball number 12 has opted to claim the cash option of approximately $477 million and will receive just over $326 million after state and federal taxes.
The Speedway gas station in the Milwaukee suburb of New Berlin where Franco purchased the winning ticket will receive $100,000 for selling the winning ticket.
Manuel Franco speaking about his $768.4 million Jackpot
Top 3 World Record Lottery Jackpots
- $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot shared by 3 winners in January 2016
- $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot won by single ticket holder in South Carolina in October 2018
- $768.4 million Powerball jackpot won by Manuel Franco in March 2019
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