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Immigrant wins $338M Powerball jackpot in US

A 44-year-old immigrant from the Dominican Republic is the winner of a $338 million Powerball lottery jackpot in the U.S., and he’s telling reporters in Spanish that he’s ‘very happy.’

Several media outlets were at the New Jersey liquor store, where the ticket was sold, on Monday when Pedro Quezada entered. They report that the store owner validated Quezada’s ticket as a winner. Reports also identified his home country.

The New Jersey Lottery confirmed that the winning ticket was validated at the store.

A lump sum payout would be $221 million, or about $152 million after taxes. It’s the fourth-largest jackpot in Powerball history.

Quezada told reporters that his first priority will be helping his family.

His wife, Ines Sanchez, told the Bergen Record that Quezada called her with the news Monday afternoon.

‘I still can’t believe it,’ she said. ‘We never expected it but thank God.’

The family’s apartment sits in Passaic, part of the working-class suburbs sprawling from New York City. Neighbors stood out in the rain Monday night and spoke with pride that one of their own had struck it rich.

Eladia Vazquez described Quezada and his wife as ‘quiet and not overly talkative’ but sensed that they seemed to be working all the time.

‘This is super for all of us on this block,’ she said. ‘They deserve it because they are hardworking people.’

Richard Delgado, who lives down the block from Quezada’s building, said the man was ‘a hard worker, like all of us here. We all get up in the morning and go to work.’

Powerball is played in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and the US Virgin Islands. The chance of matching all five numbers and the Powerball number is about 1 in 175 million.