What to Know
- The Powerball winner who purchased one of the winning tickets in the Oct. 27 drawing that had a jackpot totaling $687.8 million
- Manhattan's Robert Bailey stepped forward Wednesday to claim his outstanding jackpot winnings
- Other winning ticket was sold at convenience store in Redfield, Iowa, a rural community of about 800 people
The Powerball winner who purchased one of the winning tickets in the Oct. 27 drawing that had a jackpot totaling $687.8 million has come forward.
Manhattan's Robert Bailey stepped forward Wednesday to claim his outstanding jackpot winnings.
West Harlem Deli sold the winning ticket that matched all six numbers in Oct. 27 night's drawing for the fourth-largest lottery prize in U.S. history.
"I just ran into that store and played my numbers, ran back into the car and was off," he said.
Bailey, who is 67 years old and a retired federal government employee, said he always plays New York lottery games, but when he realized he was the winner he was "in shock."
“A family member gave me the numbers over twenty-five years ago and I faithfully play them,” explained Bailey.
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He said it took a while for him to claim the winnings because he had to check with a lawyer and financial advisor.
Bailey opted to take the cash lump sum totaling more than $198 million, or more than $125 million after taxes and New York Lotto's Yolanda Vega officially presented him with a check at Resorts World Casino in Queens.
When asked how it felt to win an historic Lottery jackpot Bailey said, “It’s a good life changer. I plan to do the right thing with the money.”
What does Bailey plan to do with his incredible winnings? He plans to get a house for his mother, "with a little land around it" and also hopes to travel.
Bailey will split the winnings with Lerynne West, the other winner who hails from Iowa.
The other winning ticket was sold at Casey's convenience store in Redfield, Iowa, a rural community of about 800 people roughly 35 miles west of Des Moines.
West, a single mother claimed the winnings, and set up a foundation in memory of her grandson.
She said she won the multimillion-dollar Powerball jackpot until she retrieved the winning ticket from the floor of her sister's truck and claimed it.
Both ticket holders beat miserable odds: The chance of winning the Powerball jackpot is 1 in 292.2 million.
Lottery officials said the ticket sold in Iowa marks the largest lottery prize ever won in the state.
The drawing came four days after someone won a $1.54 billion Mega Millions jackpot, which marked the nation's second-largest lottery prize ever. That ticket was sold in South Carolina, where lottery winners can remain anonymous.
The Oct. 27 Poweball jackpot was originally estimated at $750 million but worked out to $687.8 million by the time of the drawing. That's the annuity total, which would be paid out over 29 years. The cash value, or lump sum, is $396.2 million before taxes.
Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
