19 Year Old Wins $35.3 Million Powerball Jackpot
via AP
Jonathan Vargas turns 20 in July. But he relied on the ages of close relatives instead of his own when he picked the six winning numbers for Saturday’s $35.3 million Powerball jackpot.
The Gaston construction worker said his two younger brothers turn 12 and 14 this year; his sister will be 15 and his older brother will be 21. Their mom turned 43 earlier this year.
And the winning red ball number?
“As far as 30 — just a lucky guess,” he said Monday at a news conference announcing him as the winner.
With the win, Vargas became one of the Midlands’ most eligible bachelors. (Patricia Richardson, 43, says her son is neither married nor in a relationship.)
While other winning Powerball tickets have been sold in South Carolina, state lottery director Ernie Passailaigue said Vargas, who went to Airport High School in Lexington County, is the first winner who lives in the state.
Passailaigue said Vargas likely will take the lump-sum payment, estimated at $17.3 million, instead of the annuity that pays out the larger jackpot amount over 29 years.
Vargas — who said Saturday was the first time he’d played the lottery — plans to buy his mother a house and quit work, he said.
“Right now, there’s no really big plans in the works,” he said. The first thing he plans to do is get a lawyer and a financial consultant. He said he already has an accountant — his aunt.
Vargas said the numbers came to him while he was at work. He was having a bottle of juice and saw that the expiration date on the bottle was his birthday. He said a voice in his head told him, “Your family is going to bring you success and fortune.”
“I heard the numbers in my head,” he said. “I called my mom and said write these numbers down.”
He also wrote the numbers on a napkin and tucked it away in his pocket. He still has the napkin. He was holding it when he watched the drawing.
“When it got to the third number, I knew I had it,” he said. “I was grateful. I was crying. It was a very emotional moment for me.”
Editor’s Note: I hope this doesn’t turn out like the Dave Chapelle skit when negroes got reparations
hahaha, those reparation checks we’re hilarious! i’d get an island in Nova Scotia and have a laboratory built on it, but that’s just me. that dude is incredibly lucky.
Whata lucky dude.