$1.765 billion Powerball in Top 10 biggest list: Info about Theodorus Struyck, other winners

No doubt, California is on a hot streak when it comes to lottery wins. The big lottery wins.

Five months after a record Powerball drawing, California Lottery officials announced who won the $1.765 billion Powerball jackpot from Oct. 11, 2023: Theodorus Struyck represents the group of winners and officially claimed the ticket on their behalf March 15, 2024, according to a California Lottery news release.

Lottery officials added the grand prize raised an additional $119.5 million for public schools.

“Announcing big wins like this gives all of our players the chance to hope and dream that they could be next,” California Lottery Director Harjinder K. Shergill Chima said in a news release. “But it also gives us an opportunity to shine the spotlight on our terrific mission, which is to generate additional, supplemental funding for public education in California. So, it’s students of all ages across the state, who win every day thanks to our players, our retail partners who sell these fun games, and our hard-working staff here at the lottery. This is an exciting day for all of us!”

Here are things to know about Theodorus Struyck, California Lottery's billion-dollar jackpot wins and what we know about the winners.

Florida and Californiahave won big Powerball jackpots. Are they among Top 10 luckiest states?

What do we know about $1.765 billion Powerball lottery winner Theodorus Struyck?

On Oct. 11, 2023, Powerball had shot up to $1.73 billion for the drawing before final sales pushed the total to $1.765 billion, according to TCPalm, a USA TODAY Network newspaper. That Powerball streak lasted three months before Theodorus Struyck and the other winners matched all five numbers plus the Powerball.

On March 15, the California Lottery announced Struyck represents the group of winners who bought the winning $1.765 billion Powerball ticket at Midway Market in Frazier Park, California. Struyck is a 65-year-old grandfather who "adores his grandchildren," according to a March 19, 2024, USA TODAY story. His neighbor Mary Dreier told KGET that Struyck is "just really pleasant to have around."

It is not known how many winners are part of the group that claimed the $1.765 billion, and the public may never know.

However, in California, big lottery jackpot winners cannot remain anonymous or claim their prize as a trust (such as in other states like Michigan and Florida). So someone, in this case, Theodorus "Theo" Struyck," has to come forward.

Lottery experts have said there are ways to maintain privacy such as Powerball billionaire winners Marvin and Mae Acosta of California, who split the $1.586 billion Powerball on Jan. 13, 2016, with two other couples from Tennessee (John and Lisa Robinson) and Melbourne Beach, Florida (David Kaltschmidt and Maureen Smith). The Acostas, and largest lottery jackpot winner ever Edwin Castro (see below) declined to have their photo or video footage released to the public during their respective California Lottery press conferences.

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How much does Theodorus Struyck and other winners of $1.765 billion Powerball lottery drawing take home?

California Lottery officials did not release how many winners besides Theodorus Struyck are in the group that won $1.765 billion in the Oct. 11, 2023, Powerball drawing, but they did share how much the one-time lump sum cash option would be: a whopping $774.1 million.

At the time of the drawing, California already had ties to two other billion-dollar lottery jackpots in 2023. The Oct. 11, 2023, Powerball drawing was the second billion-dollar jackpot win for the state that year. In 2023, Mega Millions and Powerball had jackpots that reached or surpassed $1 billion four times.

In an Oct. 12, 2023, AP video, California Lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Becker told reporters: "California is home to more lottery players than any other state. One of the reasons the jackpots have gotten so high lately is because of the economy and the rising interest rates. If the winner chooses to take the annual payments ... that's them asking us as the state to invest that lump sum on their behalf over 30 annual payments. That's where the $1.7 billion comes in, so that money exists over time. The cash value was $774.1 million, still an incredible amount of money. The state of California doesn't tax lottery winnings, but the IRS does, so that's before federal taxes."

The California Lottery news release about Struyck did not mention whether he and the group opted for the one-time lump sum or the 30 annual payments.

What do we know about store that sold winning $1.765 billion Powerball ticket in California?

Midway Market and Liquor in Frazier Park, California, sold the winning $1.765 billion Powerball ticket for the Oct. 11, 2023, drawing. A day after the win, Nidal "Andy" Khalil, co-owner of Midway Market, was presented with a $1 million bonus commission check from lottery officials: “I want to thank the Frazier Park community and the California Lottery for supporting and providing for us,” he said in a news conference. As for what he plans on doing with his share of the $1 million bonus, he told reporters: “I want to make sure my kids have enough funds for college.”

In the March 19, 2024, USA TODAY story, Khalil described Theodorus Struyck as a regular customer who would visit the store at least two to three times a week. "I was sure someone local had bought the ticket, and I'm so glad it was," Khalil has told the Daily Mail.

Did anyone win $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot? Where was winning ticket sold?

For the July 19, 2023, drawing for a $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot, a single ticket won in California. As of March 22, 2024, the winner has not been publicly announced. The winning ticket was sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market in Los Angeles, which received a $1 million bonus commission, according to California Lottery officials. Owner Nabor Herrera was not aware that he'd sold the winning ticket until he saw media gathered in front of his store on July 20, 2023, the morning after the drawing. Herrera told KTLA-TV that he thought film crews were there to shoot a movie. When the ticketholder claims their prize, they could take the $1.08 billion or opt for a one-time cash payment estimated to be about $558.1 million. In California, winners have up to a year from the date of the drawing to claim their prize at lottery headquarters, and it is public record to know their identity.

$1.765 billion Powerball jackpot is second-largest jackpot ever. Who won biggest lottery prize in US history?

The $1.765 billion Powerball is the second-largest lottery jackpot ever in U.S. history, just below the $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won by Edwin Castro of Altadena, California. After months of rollovers, the Nov. 7, 2022, Powerball drawing ballooned to a whopping $2.04 billion. The jackpot was an estimated $1.9 billion days before the drawing, but lottery ticket sales pushed it to more than $2 billion after updated calculations. The drawings had rolled over 40 times since Aug. 3, 2022. Edwin Castro finally won the lottery with these winning numbers: 10-33-41-47-56 and the Powerball was 10. Castro officially came forward to claim his winnings on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14. 2023, almost three months later.

Contributing: Ahjane Forbes, USA TODAY

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.