E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Janet Zappala / NBCLosAngeles.com
Julie Cervera addresses a news conference Friday in San Bernardino, Calif., where she accepted her $23 million lottery jackpot.
Five months after the winning ticket was sold and with only 25 days left to claim the prize, the California Lottery has finally found its mystery $23 million SuperLotto Plus jackpot winner: Julie Cervera, 69, of Victorville.
The disabled widow with short light hair, surrounded by children and grandchildren, accepted her check on Friday and basked in the media glow, NBCLosAngeles.com reported.
"It hasn't hit me yet, but I'm gonna get me some Nikes," she said.
With the rest of the money, she said she'd take care of two close friends and her numerous grandchildren, NBCLosAngeles.com reported. She's also planning to buy a house for her daughter who was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
A surveillance image showing her daughter, Charliena Cervera, running into Michael's Market & Liquor in Palmdale was released as part of the lottery's search for the winner of its May 30 drawing, California Lottery officials told NBC News.
California Lottery
Charliena Cervera is seen in a Palmdale, Calif., market surveillance video running into the store to buy what turned out to be a $23 million jackpot-winning lottery ticket.
See the original story at NBCLosAngeles.com | More from NBCLosAngeles.com
They had stopped for water driving home from Palmdale, and Julie Cervera gave her daughter money for the the ticket and stuck it in the car's glove compartment.
"She just never checked the ticket," Lottery spokesman Alex Traverso said Thursday. "Her daughter took a picture of her photo in the newspaper and sent it to her mother, she went to her car and found the ticket."
Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter
If the ticket had not been redeemed by Nov. 26, the winnings would have been transferred to California schools, NBCLosAngeles.com reported.
Watch the Top Videos on NBCNews.com
The winning ticket numbers were 14, 7, 26, 31, 23 and Mega 5.
The store's manager, Ben Sadi, told the San Bernardino Sun the market had already received its $115,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Woman sues Texas police department over ruptured breast implant
- Lawsuit: Cop stuns 10-year-old with Taser for refusing to clean his patrol car
- Sandy death toll in US rises to nearly 100; 'could be more,' NYC mayor says
- Texas teacher reportedly duct taped student's mouth shut
- ATF: Bombing suspect hurls pipe bombs at police during chase
Leave a Comment:
Whew! Congrats, take a deep breath and a nice vacation...........
Get an attorney, a financial planner, and move out of California....disappear! (Or you will never be left alone!)
Mighty nice of them to search for the winner if not it would of likely expired. I've never heard of them doing that.
Good for her! Hope she uses her new-found wealth wisely and gets out of California! Federal and State Govt. will take a nice chunk of her fortune. She is now the "1 percent" which is now dispised by leftists. Run for it!
This is a great story and I wish her well. I agree with everyone, get a financial planner and hide or you'll have a ton of new friends hounding you for money!
Now this is a story I can bolt onto! People like this woman that think of others and wanting to take care of others is a testament to our humanity... unlike Corporations and their Candidates for President.
Great. You won the lottery. Of course, you wouldn't have AS BEEN broke all these years, being on disability & all, if you HADN'T been buying lottery tickets with MY tax money. Hey, I gotta great idea, why don't you PAY BACK all the tax money you've been living off of with some of those winnings? Only seems fair. Of course, if fairness were any part of our legal system, people on gov't assistance wouldn't be ALLOWED to waste their handout on gambling. And should someone on gov't assistance actually WIN the lottery, the first deduction from the monies ought to be paying US back for all the help over the years.
A bit jealous?
If she was on public assistance, and she came into this money, she should be presented with a "BILL" for X-number of years of free money.
I don't begrudge her getting the public help, if she rightfully needed it; I also don't begrudge her for buying the occasional lottery ticket but if she received $20,000.00 a year for 20 years - she should now be required to pay back $400k. That would be the RIGHT thing to do after winning 23 million and it should be the LAW!
Looks like someone forgot to eat his Wheaties this morning. She bought one ticket. Would it be asking too much for you to simply be happy for this woman and her family and wish them well? Apparently not.
She's going to be paying back some of that through the taxes that will be taken off - I believe it's 35% - so that means she will give back 8 million to the US government. If California taxes lottery winnings, that will be an additional deduction. Who's to say that this wasn't the first time she bought a ticket? Or even if she had purchased on ticket a day it would only be $365 per year or $730 depending on the cost of the ticket ($1 or $2). Let this lady be and go and buy your own ticket. Sounds like she could use it; the state just needs to make sure she's taken off of any public assistance since she now doesn't need it.
I agree Retired Vet she will pay more in taxes than she ever got from welfare.
GRRRRR....you are soooo mad. "My name is madguy and i post on websites so people know how mad i am. Also, none of my friends like me because i'm always mad about everything."
That is my impression of you. I lower the tone of my voice and get some jowls into it. That way the voice matches a mad person.
Wow. What a nice win for her. If I were her I would get a financial planner asap and not just hand out money. It will be gone quickly if she does not do that.
Merry (early) Christmas!
Good for her, now she needs to do some Financial Planing with a known pro and turn that Money into a Permanent asset that will keep her and her Loved ones secure for the foreseeable future. Don't blow it on whimsical things until you know for sure you can turn it into permanent cash flow. Watch out for the extortionists because they will be coming out of the woodwork.
This is a chance for long-term financial security if she is prudent and wise.
Nice going MSNBC....you never tell us what YEAR it was she bought the ticket (last year, 2 years ago ???).....
Duh because EVERYONE else knows it's this year!!!! EVERYONE
First of all the headline says 5 month search and when they say May 30 drawing they assume you know it means May 30 2012.
Did you read the headline about a 5 month search? Can you do the math?
Nice story with a happy ending. Glad the lottery people went above and beyond to find the winner. You don't see that often these days.
Lets just hope the state of CA is smart enough to cut off her ss disability. She should pay it back - piece of shiet!
Liberals make me want to effen puke!
How does one get from "disabled widow" to someone on the welfare dole? Being disabled does not mean she is without means; she might have had disability insurance (such as I do), she most likely receives social security (she is 69), and maybe the life insurance from her deceased husband has been part of her financial estate. Since we don't know, maybe it's not worth our time to vent about it as if she was, but worth our time wishing her well and, dab nab it, wishing it had been my ticket that won.
VIRGINIA1919 WELL SAID!!!!
Lucky woman. Congrats!!!!!
What part of “Disabled Grandma” means that this woman was receiving Government
Assistance? There is nothing mentioned regarding her source of
income. There seems to be some bitterness toward Social Security
Disability recipients. An individual has to have worked and paid into
Social Security before they are eligible to receive benefits and the
degree of their disability would govern the amount they receive.
Social Security is not a “Welfare” program and its recipients are
not expected to payback benefits should their financial situation
change. If an individual is disabled and has not paid into Social
Security (SSA), they may qualify for the Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) program, but there is nothing mentioned regarding her source
of income or the degree of her disability.
The Lottery was created to collect revenue from the masses of individuals that can't
afford or don't understand how to gamble on Wall Street. The 99% pool
their money in the Lottery with the understanding that themselves or
someone like them will instantly receive a windfall profit. Has she
purchased thousands of Lottery tickets over the years are did she
purchase one ticket with money given to her by someone in her large
family?, we don't know. What is known is that she won and there are
malcontents that begrudge her good fortune.
eff you! Seems like everyone is on disability these days - that is the problem! And I am GD sick and tired of paying for lazy arse mother effen aholes to sit around on their fat arses all day and do nothing! I don't have gd cable television you effen puke, but I have to pay for hers?
And nobody pays in nearly what they get out of it! So go eff yourself you effen puke!
Effen disability for 20 years! Is she going to pay back the taxpayers? How does someone on disability pay get to adopt children?
What the eff is going on in this country? Every mother effen puke is on some sort of gd effen disability!
The schools need the money more! Our kids are graduating not even knowing how to read these days! absolutely disgusting!