Iowa and New York win $ 688 million in Powerball tickets

NEW YORK – The co-owner of a Manhattan deli, who bought one of the two Powerball tickets that hit the $ 688-million jackpot, said he probably had sold the winning ticket, but he had no idea of ​​the winner.

Jose Espinosa and his father own the West Harlem Deli, which allegedly sold a ticket for the six numbers of the draw held Saturday night for the fourth largest lottery prize in the history of the United States . The ticket holder will share the winnings with whoever has purchased the other winning ticket at a store located in a small town in Iowa.

While helping a steady stream of Sunday patrons, Espinosa, 41, joked that he knew he had sold the lucky ticket because I still work: "I'm always I live here. " But he does not know who bought it.

"It was not me," said client Jose Humphreys, a 45-year-old pastor in a nearby church. "But hey, if someone went to the lottery and wanted to donate to our church, we would never refuse it."

The other winning ticket was sold to Casey's convenience store in Redfield, Iowa, a rural community of about 800 people about 56 kilometers west of Des. Moines. An employee who answered the phone Sunday at the store declined to comment and asked questions to lottery officials.

He also did not know who had bought this ticket. The odds of winning the Powerball Jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million.

Lottery officials said that the ticket sold in Iowa was the largest lottery prize ever won in that state.

"Even we are I am stunned," said Sunday Sunday the Iowa Lottery General Manager, Terry Rich. "It shows what we have said many times: you never know when the next big winner will be hit."

Rich said anyone who has played Powerball in recent days should double check his tickets. The winning numbers were 8, 12, 13, 19 and 27, and Powerball 4.

The winners of a jackpot can not remain anonymous in Iowa or New York, and the lottery officials encourage winners – who have one year to run – to consult a financial advisor first.

The draw took place four days after someone won a $ 1.54 billion jackpot, which was the second-biggest lottery lottery in the country. This ticket was sold in South Carolina, where lottery winners can remain anonymous.

Saturday's Poweball jackpot was initially estimated at $ 750 million but was $ 687.8 million at the time of the draw. That's the total of the annuity, which would be paid out over 29 years. The commuted value, or lump sum, is $ 396.2 million before taxes.

The exact jackpot is determined by the sales figures of the sold tickets. Officials note that the reason jackpots rise so dramatically when prices get huge is that people who do not normally play decide to buy a few tickets. This is great for lottery sales, but it is more difficult for officials to estimate the number of irregular players that will participate, further complicating the jackpot's estimate.

Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. .

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Associated Press reporters, Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, and Chris Carola in Albany, New York, contributed to the writing of this report.