Lucky Powerball Numbers Add Up to $315 Million For New Jersey Accountant
A lucky man from New Jersey has quit his job as an accountant at a food importing company after winning $315.3 million on Powerball. He matched all five main numbers plus the Powerball on Saturday 19th May, and has now come forward to claim his money.
A ‘Tom and Jerry’ Heart
Tayeb Souami became the Garden State’s second big winner of the year when he matched the numbers 3, 6, 9, 17 and 56, plus Powerball 25. He found out about his incredible fortune the following day, when he took his car to get washed and stopped off at a 7-Eleven to check his lottery tickets.
“When I went inside, I scanned the first ticket and it wasn't the winner,” said Souami, “The second ticket was good but the machine said it must be seen by the retailer. The clerk kept saying, 'oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,' and my heart went just like a 'Tom and Jerry' cartoon when the heart went boom boom... and I found out after that I was the one."
Recalling how he had bought his ticket, Souami, who is from Little Ferry, explained that he was grateful to a remarkable twist of fate. He had originally gone into Shoprite at 500 South River Street in Hackensack, Bergen County and purchased an orange juice for $5, only for his wife to tell him to return it because it was on sale for $2.50 somewhere else.. A Powerball sign caught his eye at the customer service counter, and he paid for two tickets with the cash he was refunded from the orange juice.
Souami admitted that it had been difficult to come to terms with the news as he addressed a crowd during his presentation ceremony. “My day has come. Hopefully one day it will come for you too,” he said. “This is big. I am very emotional right now. I like the numbers and I always play with those numbers.”
Apart from enjoying an early retirement, the 55-year-old Souami has no major plans for how he wants to spend his winnings and will consult a financial advisor before he does anything else. His priority is to provide the best possible future for his family, especially when it comes to the education of his two children.
He has opted to take the cash payout of $183.2 million before taxes, rather than the full jackpot amount as an annuity over the next 30 years.
Powerball Jackpot Already Back Past $120 Million
Souami became the fourth Powerball winner of 2018. The first was a woman from New Hampshire who landed $559.7 million on Saturday 6th January and then won her battle to claim the money anonymously. The Emerald Legacy Trust, from Pennsylvania, then claimed a $456.7 million jackpot from 17th March, and the Moose Family Trust from Louisiana banked $55.9 million on 24th March.
Only six draws have passed since Souami won the massive Powerball jackpot, but nobody else has managed to match all the numbers and the top prize has already surged beyond the $120 million mark.
The Mega Millions jackpot is also up to a fantastic $144 million ahead of Tuesday night’s draw, giving the two big multi-state lotteries a combined total well in excess of $250 million. There are also several other prize tiers in both games, and you can get involved by visiting a retailer in a participating state or taking part online via the Tickets page.