Delaware store sells $121.6 million Powerball ticket

(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

A store in southern Delaware sold a $121.6 million winning Powerball ticket—making it the second highest win on one ticket in state history.

The ticket, which was sold at Selbyville Goose Creek on DuPont Blvd., matched the winning number in Saturday night’s drawing. The winner has yet to come forward.

“I think it’s fantastic for the store people, there’s a lot of excitement around it—the lottery officials were there yesterday and they hung up a big sign up front that we sold the winning Powerball ticket,” said Greg Stutzman, vice president of retail for Cato Incorporated, which owns the Selbyville subsidiary of Cato Gas & Goose Creek Food Stores.

“I was happy for the excitement it generated with the employees.”

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The winner may choose to receive the full $121.6 million in payments over 29 years, or receive a cash lump sum of $72.1 million. He or she will be the 10th Delaware winner since the Powerball first began in 1992.

The largest lottery win in Delaware was $214.7 million in 2004. There have been higher wins in previous years, but with multiple winners splitting the prize.

Along with the grand-prize winner, two players who bought tickets in California and New York matched all five white numbers drawn to win $1 million. In addition, there were 676,912 winners in the drawing who won at least $4 each.

“For one lucky winner in Delaware, this holiday season marks the beginning of the start of his or her life as a multimillionaire,” said Delaware Lottery Director Vernon Kirk in a statement.

“This is an incredible life-changing event, and the Delaware Lottery encourages the winner to take the time he or she needs to make the decisions regarding prize claim options, and perhaps consult with a tax accountant or an attorney.”

Stutzman said Saturday’s win marks the first time the company, with its multiple locations in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, has sold a winning Powerball ticket of this magnitude. The store also will receive a $10,000 commission for selling the winning ticket, which the company will use to establish a scholarship fund for its 500 employees and their dependents.

“We felt it was a good use of the money and we wanted to give it back to the employees,” Stutzman said.

The winning numbers in Saturday’s drawing were 1, 8, 16, 40 and 48, with a Powerball of 10.

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