$768M Powerball winner, a 24-year-old West Allis man, comes forward

TUESDAY 4/23/19 12:00 p.m.

Reporter: “What was your biggest money concern before winning?”

$768M Powerball winner: “Trying to get that bank account to $1,000 was my biggest concern.”

NEW BERLIN, Wis. (WFRV) — Manuel Franco, a 24-year-old West Allis man, has come forward to claim his $768M Powerball ticket.

Franco started his public statement by thanking his family before going into the story of how he won the ticket.

The day Franco bought his ticket he said he felt so lucky that he looked at the camera in the Speedway as he left.

He and his girlfriend purchased a few tickets earlier, but he decided to buy an additional $10 worth of tickets after he left work.

It wasn’t until the day after the winning numbers were released that Franco went through his tickets. 

He was disappointed at first when all the tickets he and his girlfriend purchased together came up empty, but when he went through his wallet to check the tickets he bought on his own that disappointment faded quickly.

It was the last ticket in his hand that matched the first number…and then the second number…and then the rest of them.

Franco said he screamed for 10 minutes when he realized he won.

One of the first things Franco did was hire attorney Andrew Stoltmann.

Stoltmann was an active advisor for Franco during the press conference keeping Franco’s answers to anecdotes rather than identifiable information like his workplace, career skills, school, or where his family resides.

Franco also said he has been prepared with how to tell people no when they ask for money.

Franco said he wants to help people with the money but that he wants to be sure the money he plans to donate will absolutely go to help someone.

Before any decisions are made with how he spends his money Franco said he wants to wait for the moment to sink in so he could be responsible with his earnings.

“I plan to live my life normal as much as possible,” – Manuel Franco

Franco said he originally wanted to take the annuity but was advised to take the lump sum instead.

He said he quit his job, a place which was undisclosed, two days after winning and didn’t plan on playing Powerball ever again.

Winning $768M Powerball Ticket Sold in Wisconsin

THURSDAY 3/28/19 

A single ticket sold in Wisconsin matched all six numbers in the Wednesday night Powerball drawing to win the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history. Due to strong ticket sales, the jackpot climbed to an estimated $768.4 million at the time of the drawing with a cash option of $477 million.

Powerball said the winning numbers are 16, 20, 37, 44, 62 and the Powerball number is 12.

The $768.4 million is the third-largest behind the world record $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot shared by winners in California, Florida and Tennessee in January 2016, and the $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot won in South Carolina last October.

“It’s going to be a very green spring for our first Powerball jackpot winner of 2019,“ David Barden, Powerball Product Group chairman and New Mexico Lottery CEO, said in a statement. “A jackpot of this size can make many dreams come true – not just for the winner, but for all Lottery beneficiaries and the lucky state of Wisconsin.“

Although the prize has grown steadily since the last jackpot winner on Dec. 26, the odds of matching the five white balls and single Powerball remain one in 292.2 million.

The $768.4 million estimated figure refers to the annuity option, paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt for the cash prize, which for Wednesday’s drawing would be an estimated $477 million. Both prize options are before taxes.

Seven tickets matched all five white balls, but missed matching the red Powerball in Wednesday’s drawing to win a $1 million prize. Those tickets were sold in Arizona, two in California, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey and New York. Two other tickets, sold in Kansas and Minnesota, matched all five white balls and doubled the prize to $2 million, because the tickets included the Power Play option for an additional $1.

Powerball is played in 44 states, plus Washington, D.C., the U.S Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

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AP has contributed to this article