Small Town Man Becomes Big Time Winner
New Jersey Lottery Acting Executive Director John M. White recently announced Tayeb Souami of Little Ferry in Bergen County as the sole winner of the Saturday, May 19, 2018 Powerball Jackpot.
Mr. Souami had the only jackpot winning ticket for the May 19th Powerball drawing, making him New Jersey’s newest “MULTI” millionaire. He has elected to take the cash option with a payout of $183.2 million.
This winner has been playing the Lottery for 21 years and is a regular shopper at the Shoprite of Hackensack where the ticket was purchased. The winning ticket was a Quick Pick. Mr. Souami said his son had been urging him for years to stop playing the Lottery because he believed his dad would never win. Definitely, this is one time “father knew best.”
Mr. Souami didn’t check the ticket until the next day, Sunday, when he stopped by another store that happened to be a Lottery retailer.
He scanned the ticket and the screen displayed a message instructing him to see the retailer.
After giving the ticket to the clerk, she scanned it and said, “Oh my God!” He asked the clerk what he won and she said, “It’s big.” Mr. Souami asked, “How big?” She replied, “VERY big.” Mr. Souami thought maybe it was the $50,000 prize, but then he saw the validation slip and it said “Jackpot.” He knew then that he had won a LOT of money; his heart was racing and he was shaking so much that it took him four tries to fill out the claim form.
Husband’s Surprise During ‘Rough Patch’ Turns Into $50,000
Many husbands enjoy surprising their wives with the occasional bouquet of flowers. But Melissa Carullo’s husband likes to mix it up with Lottery tickets to keep her on her toes. Call it luck or call it fate, but one thing is for sure: Her husband’s surprise Powerball tickets on May 16 paid off at the right time.
“We are down one income due to my husband’s work injury. He told me this might be the last Lottery tickets for a while,” the Gladstone resident said. “We have a fund set aside for fun stuff like this, and that’s what he uses for the flowers or Lottery tickets. But since his injury, we knew that fund would have to go away, because we don’t have the money for that right now.”
Carullo’s husband was going out the next day to run an errand. She asked him to swing by Hy-Vee Gas where they purchased their Powerball tickets, and checked to see if any were winners. And there in the mix was a winning Powerball ticket worth $50,000.
“I really still feel in shock. It’s just not our luck,” said an excited Carullo. “We prayed about it – not winning the Lottery – but ‘Please give us something. It will help us pay bills to maintain our life with our two little ones during the time before he can go back to work.”
Carullo says she and her family are so thankful and feel extremely blessed. They hope to use some of what is left over after paying bills to put a down payment on a house, “a dream come true.” And they would like to take their two kids to Branson for a nice getaway.
“It’s incredible,” said Carullo. “The timing is great.”
$150 million Powerball ticket sold in Salem
An Oregon Lottery player matched all numbers drawn in Wednesday night’s $150.4 million Powerball® jackpot. The winning ticket was sold in Salem.
The specific store location is not available for release until after the ticket has been redeemed and validated at Lottery headquarters in Salem.
Winning numbers for draw date (June 20, 2018): 4 -14 – 23 – 27 – 56 and the power ball was 13
The Power Play multiplier was 2.
The winning Salem ticket was the only ticket sold to have the all the winning numbers. More than 6,800 winning tickets, with smaller prizes, were sold in Oregon during the June 20 draw.
A winner has one year from the date of the drawing to claim the prize. Oregon Lottery office hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Players have two jackpot prize payment options when claiming their Powerball tickets. One option is the “annuity” plan, under which Powerball jackpots provide the winner(s) with 30 annual payments. Under the “cash” option, the winners(s) receives a one-time lump sum payment equal to approximately one-half the final jackpot. If the winner opts to take the lump sum, they can take home nearly $61.7 million after taxes. If the winner opts for the annuity option they will receive 30 graduated payments over 29 years. Federal withholding is 24 percent and state withholding is 8 percent.
In Oregon, the winner’s name, city, city of retailer, date of win, prize and game played are considered public information and will be released.
For additional information about the Powerball jackpot, please contact the Oregon Lottery Public Affairs the next business day at 503-540-1015.
Lottery officials recommend that you always sign the back of your tickets with each Oregon Lottery game you play, to ensure you can claim any prize you may win. In the event of winning a jackpot, players should consult with a trusted financial planner or similar professional to develop a plan for their winnings. Prize winners of more than $50,000 should contact the Lottery office to schedule an appointment to claim their prize.
Second-try Lucky!
A Shelbyville man is $2 million richer after playing Powerball for just the second time ever.
Cabinet maker Matthew Reed claimed the winnings with his grandparents by his side at the Tennessee Lottery’s Nashville headquarters.
Reed purchased two tickets for the June 16 Powerball and added the Power Play option which doubled the base $1 million winning. Reed says he plans to keep working and use the money in investments and put it in savings.