SACRAMENTO – Lee Jarrett came forward today as the lucky winner of the $45 million SuperLOTTO Plus® jackpot from the October 18th draw.
Mr. Jarrett realized only a few hours ago that he was the winner of the largest jackpot to be sold in Calabasas. “I checked the Lottery’s website around 3am and then I just stared at the ticket for 20-30 minutes, making sure I had the right draw date and that all the numbers really matched, and that I wasn’t imagining it,” explained Mr. Jarrett. When asked what he did next, when he realized it was true, he replied, “I called some friends, went to their house and we had a bottle of champagne. I always keep a bottle in my refrigerator!” Wow! He even thinks like a millionaire!
Mr. Jarrett isn’t someone who plays the Lottery regularly, he says he only plays it once every six months and this winning ticket was an impulse buy. “I stopped to get gas and just bought $5 worth of SuperLOTTO Plus tickets on a whim, they were all Quick Picks.”
The ticket was sold at the Shell station located at 22295 Mulholland Highway in Calabasas. Sami Haddad, owner of the station, will receive a retailer bonus of approximately $225,000, or 1/2 of 1% of the jackpot, for selling the winning ticket. When asked what he would do with the bonus, Haddad said happily, “I’m going to pay off a new motor home I just purchased and contribute heavily to my daughter’s college fund.”
Public education receives at least 34 cents of every dollar players spend on Lottery products. The California Lottery contributed a record $1.28 billion to public education in 2005-06 out of historic sales of $3.58 billion, the sixth year in a row the Lottery has provided more than $1 billion in supplemental funding for education. Since its inception in 1985, the Lottery has contributed more than $18 billion to California schools.
Mr. Jarrett took the cash option, which will be about half of the announced jackpot or $22.5 million. When asked what he plans on doing with his riches, he said, “I plan on saving 99% of it and investing, although I may splurge on a second car, maybe a convertible.” Might we suggest restocking your refrigerator with champagne, you are going to need it for all your upcoming celebrations!