EnglishHindi
- Follow us
-
-
-
-
-
-
Indian American 7-Eleven owner Balbir Atwal holds up a $1 million check, which he received from the California State Lottery, in front of his store Jan. 14 in Chino Hills, Calif. His store sold one of the three Powerball winning tickets for the record-breaking $1.6 billion jackpot. (Ringo Chiu/Getty Images)
By India West Staff
An Indian American-owned 7-Eleven in Chino Hills, Calif., is among three nationwide stores that sold one of the winning tickets in the $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot drawing Jan. 13 – the largest lottery prize in U.S. history.
Store owner Balbir Atwal will pocket a whopping $1 million bonus for selling the winning ticket. He was presented with a $1 million ceremonial check Jan. 14 in front of a cheering crowd outside his Chino Hills store.
In order to reach the Powerball jackpot, a ticket has to match all six numbers on the ticket. The winning numbers were 04, 08, 19, 27, 34, and Powerball-10.
The odds of winning the record jackpot were 1 in 292.2 million. The other two winners are from Tennessee and Florida. The winners were not immediately known but the prize money will be split evenly among the lucky ticket holders.
Atwal, who has owned the store since 1994, owns three others in Yorba Linda, Diamond Bar and La Habra. He plans to donate part of the store’s portion to charities and share the rest with employees and family.
“I feel very good, some lucky customer came here and made me famous,” Atwal, 57, told The Washington Post.
According to new lottery rules – effective since Oct. 4, 2015 – store owners are entitled to a half a percent of the prize only if it is worth at least $1 million.
AP adds: The California store and its surrounding strip mall suddenly became a popular gathering spot in the rural suburb of 78,000, where cows still graze on hillsides. Hundreds of people crowded the store and spilled into its parking lot, cheering and mugging for the television cameras and chanting “Chino Hills! Chino Hills!”
Atwal worked as an electronics salesman after immigrating from India in 1981, and bought his first 7-Eleven franchise at the age of 27. Now he owns four. He said he has sold winning tickets before, but never like this one.
“Every time we say, oh, this is time,” Atwal said. “I was just joking, I said, this is the time someone’s going to hit it.”
Some took selfies with the store clerk, who became an instant celebrity and may well have been the man who sold the ticket.
“I’m very proud that the ticket was sold here,” the clerk, M. Faroqui, told the local San Bernardino Sun. “I’m very happy. This is very exciting.”
This story was originally published on India West.
For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest India News on India.com.
