CA's $1.08 Billion Powerball Ticket Winner Revealed

LOS ANGELES, CA — California Lottery officials solved the mystery of the unclaimed $1.08 billion Powerball jackpot ticket sold in Downtown Los Angeles near Skid Row.

Yanira Alvarez hit the $1.08 million Powerball jackpot last July after she matched all six winning numbers with her ticket purchases at Las Palmitas Mini Market. The life-changing amount is the eighth-largest jackpot in history.

Alvarez's identity had been a mystery until officials revealed her identity in a statement over the weekend.

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Alavrez's win ended a 39-draw jackpot run and was the first of two back-to-back billion-dollar winning tickets sold in California last year.

The second win happened just three months later in October of 2023 and was worth $1.7 billion. That ticket was split between a group playing the lottery together, according to the California Lottery.

Both wins resulted in an estimated $197.9 million in additional funding for schools across the state.

California Lottery players have won, or co-won, the top four largest jackpots in Powerball history — all worth more than $1 billion. The winning ticket for the largest jackpot ever — a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot — was sold in Los Angeles County and claimed in 2023.

With every win, the California Lottery raises supplemental funding for public schools from K-12 to higher education.

“We can’t thank our players enough for their help in supporting California’s public schools,” said California Lottery Director Harjinder K. Shergill Chima. “Our mission is what drives us every day, and while jackpot prizes change lives for the big winners, they’re also making an important difference in the lives of students and teachers in classrooms across the state.”

Alvarez chose to receive the cash value prize money upfront rather than over 30 annual payments. The payment totaled more than $558.1 million prior federal taxes, lottery officials said.

Another large jackpot is up in the air for this weekend with a projected $1 billion on the line. Players in Los Angeles have until 7 p.m. Monday to join the drawing.

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A previous version of this story included factual inaccuracies due to a reporting error. The errors were rectified.