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SAN MATEO, California (AP) — Nail technician Vinh Nguyen says he just wants to be a normal man, but he's going to have a lot more to spend than most people after winning the $228.4 million Powerball ticket this week. California lottery officials said Friday that Nguyen bought the winning ticket at Dehoff's Key Market in San Mateo on Wednesday and showed up at their offices yesterday.
The market also gets $1 million for selling the prize ticket.
In a statement, the California Lottery said Nguyen told them he bought 15 Powerball tickets before the drawing, and picked his numbers at random.
He chose to receive the jackpot over 30 years rather than in a lump sum.
While the prize is one of the larger payoffs, two other recent Bay Area jackpots have been even larger. In February, B. Raymond Buxton bought a $425 million Powerball ticket from a Milpitas gas station convenience store. He claimed the prize in April. In December, Steve Tran won $324 million with a Mega Millions ticket he bought at a San Jose gift shop.
The nation's biggest lottery prize was a Mega Millions jackpot of $656 million in 2012. The biggest Powerball jackpot was a $590.5 million last May.
Nguyen doesn't have plans for his money yet.
"I just want to be a normal man," he said in the lottery's statement.
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