Man who sold lucky £770 million lottery ticket to become a millionaire thanks to loophole

Lottery winners can have their lives changed in a moment. From buying a ticket of lucky numbers, to securing millions the next.

But a winning ticket doesn’t change the life of the person who bought it – it can also change the life of the person that sold it to them.

The manager of Las Palmitas Mini Market in Los Angeles, California, sold the historic winning Powerball ticket to a customer last Wednesday (19 July).

The lucky lotto ticket came with a whopping $1 billion (over £770 million) prize for the winner.

And now shopkeeper Raul Nabor Herrera is set to become a millionaire too.

FOX11

A ‘loophole’ in California law gives the retailer a 0.5 percent share of the lottery prize fund and in this mega money case, it would be up to $1 million (over £770,000).

The dad-of-four didn’t even realise he’d sold the winning ticket either. It wasn’t until he showed up early to work on Thursday because his shop was suffocated with photographers.

Herrera told KTV: “It’s a surprise for me.”

The man has owned the store for the last seven years, but after selling such a high number of tickets over the past week or so, has no clue who actually bought the winning one.

Becoming a billionaire, a mystery woman claimed she had the winning ticket and collapsed to her knees in happiness.

According to reporters at the LA store, she could be heard by neighbours screaming so loudly when she realised she’d bagged the enormous prize.

Going unnamed, she ended the run of draws for the lottery – after the past 39 failed to bring out a winner.

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The winning numbers on her ticket were: 7, 10, 11, 13 and 24 – as well as the red 24 Powerball.

Powerball confirmed there are 36 other winners who are now millionaires plus three tickets sold in Florida, Pennsylvania and Rhode island had won $2 million (£1,540,880).

Now, after this momentous Powerball win, the jackpot has reset to $20 million.

Drew Svitko, Powerball product group chair and Pennsylvania Lottery executive director, said in a statement: "This has turned into a historic jackpot run; this is only the third time in Powerball’s 31-year history that a jackpot has reached the billion-dollar threshold.

"It only takes one ticket to win this massive jackpot or any of Powerball’s other cash prizes. If you win the jackpot, sign your ticket, put it somewhere very safe, and reach out to your local lottery.

"During this exciting time, we would like to remind our players to play responsibly. It only takes one ticket to win this massive jackpot or any of Powerball’s other cash prizes.

"If you win the jackpot, sign your ticket, put it somewhere very safe, and reach out to your local lottery. Your lottery is always your best resource for information on how to claim a prize."

Thanks to the loophole, Herrera has already started planning to take his kids on holiday to Cancun.

Topics: Money, US News

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_