Parmeet Singh, son of Dixon Landing Chevron store owner Kulwinder Singh, speaks to reporters at the store in Milpitas, California, on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014.
The lone winning ticket for the $425 million Powerball jackpot was sold at a convenience store owned by an Indian-origin man in Northern California, but there was no immediate word on who may have won one of the largest lottery jackpots in US history.
The winning numbers drawn yesterday night were: 1, 17, 35, 49, 54 and a Powerball of 34.
California lottery officials said the ticket was sold at Dixon Landing Chevron in Milpitas, a city north of San Jose that bills itself as The Gateway to The Silicon Valley. The business will receive $1 million for selling the winning ticket.
Store owner Kulwinder Singh was en route to India and was not expected to hear about the $1 million prize until after he landed in New Delhi later and called the family, his son, Parmeet, said.
Parmeet planned to tease his dad before breaking the news.
"'Hey dad, what would you do if you had $1 million?'" he said he would ask him.
His parents are humble people, he said, so he didn't expect them to splurge on anything.
The family-run gas station is just off Highway 880, with an attached carwash and Subway sandwich shop.
The parking lot was crowded this morning with television news vans.
Inside the store, dozens of reporters and photographers crowded the aisles of snack foods as Parmeet talked about his surprise at hearing the news, and the store's regular customers bantered about the prospect that one of them could have been the winner.
"I didn't believe it," Parmeet said. "I ran outside and yelled, 'Oh, my God!'"
He and employees at the store said they did not know who the winner could be.
Rajwinder Singh, one employee, said late yesterday that he believed he was probably the person who sold the winning ticket.
"I've been here working from 8 am to 8 pm," he said. "I hope I'll find out soon."
The ticket was the only one to match all the winning numbers, Powerball officials said late yesterday.
The jackpot was estimated at $425.3 million, with a cash payout option of $242.2 million. It's one of the largest lottery jackpots in US history, but still far from the record.
A ticket for America's second-largest lottery prize ever was also purchased in the San Francisco Bay Area. In December, two winning tickets were purchased in San Jose, California, and Atlanta, for a $636 million Mega Millions prize.