Someone who bought a Powerball ticket at the Goose Creek convenience store in Selbyville hit the jackpot on Saturday, Dec. 17, when the winning ticket, worth $121.6 million, was drawn. At press time, the winner had not yet come forward, and Delaware lottery policy doesn’t require them to publicly reveal their identity in order to claim the prize.
Since the drawing, the mystery surrounding the identity of the winner has grown, particularly in Selbyville and especially at the Goose Creek store. Kristy Muir, general manager of the store, said neither she nor any of her five employees know exactly when the winning ticket was sold.
Muir said that, because of the store’s location, next to the Arby’s on Route 113, the winner could be a local resident, or could just as easily be someone who stopped in for gas on their way to somewhere else.
Either way, Muir said, “It’s definitely exciting. It’s the first time anything like this has happened here,” added Muir, who has worked at the Selbyville Goose Creek store for two years. “It’s big news.” She said the state lottery commission had first notified the Goose Creek corporate office, which in turn contacted the Selbyville store regarding the winning ticket.
Delaware Lottery Director Vernon Kirk acknowledged the cause for excitement around the winning ticket.
“For one lucky winner in Delaware, this holiday season marks the beginning of the start of their life as a multi-millionaire,” said Delaware Lottery Director Vernon Kirk. “This is an incredible life-changing event, and the Delaware Lottery encourages the winner to take the time they need to make the decisions regarding prize claim options, and perhaps consult with a tax accountant or an attorney.”
The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292 million, according to lottery statistics.
The Dec. 17 drawing is the second-highest Delaware jackpot winner on a single ticket. The highest was in 2004, when the winner of the $214.7 million jackpot took the cash option of $116.9 million.
The winning numbers in Saturday’s drawing were 1, 8, 16, 40 and 48, with a Powerball of 10.
The winner will have the option to choose an annuity valued at the full prize figure or the cash value of their share of the jackpot. If the annuity option is chosen, the winner will receive the $121.6 million jackpot annuity, which will be paid over 20 years. If the winner chooses the cash option, they will receive a lump sum payment of $72.1 million.
In May 2013, one of three $50 million Powerball jackpot-winning tickets was also sold in Delaware, at the Super G supermarket located at Lighthouse Plaza Boulevard in Rehoboth Beach, and claimed the cash value of $10,377,750. Since Powerball first began in 1992, Delaware has had a total of nine jackpot winners, which will increase to 10 when the winner from Saturday’s drawing comes forward.
“Our retailer Goose Creek is also a winner today for helping to make this amazing experience happen, and we are pleased to add them to our growing list of lucky retailers,” Kirk added.
Along with the grand-prize winner, two players matched all five white numbers drawn to win $1 million but didn’t match the red Powerball number. Those tickets were sold in California and New York; however, neither player played the Power Play option, which would have increased their winnings to $2 million. Overall, there were 676,912 winners in the drawing who won at least $4 each.