Hy-Vee manager clarifies he did not win $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot sold at his store
The manager of a Quincy, Illinois Hy-Vee store that sold the $1.04 billion Powerball winning ticket said he was not the winner and the store will receive a $500,000 bonus.
A Hy-Vue Fast & Fresh in Quincy, Illinois sold the ticket that won the $1.04 billion Powerball jackpot on Aug. 13. Store manager Jon Marshall learned of the sale around 3 a.m. from Illinois Lottery officials and confirmed he had also purchased a ticket at the same location, but it was not the winner.
Marshall told local TV station WGEM that regular customers were repeatedly asking if they had won, and he joked that none of them had. He said the store will receive a $500,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
"We’re thrilled to know that a life-changing Powerball ticket was purchased at our Hy-Vee location, and we couldn’t be happier for whoever the lucky winner may be," Marshall said.
"I hope it’s someone from Quincy; the winner will now be the richest person in town," he added.
The jackpot, the eighth-largest in U.S. lottery history, can be claimed as a lump-sum payment of $450.5 million or as annuity payments. Illinois law permits winners of prizes over $250,000 to remain anonymous, so the ticket holder’s identity may not be disclosed.