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Edwin Castro, the winner of the record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot in November 2022, was spotted publicly for the first time since claiming his winnings, the New York Post reports.
Castro, 30, was seen walking out of a Chase bank holding an envelope full of cash while being flanked by his newly hired security team. In February, the California Lottery announced Edwin Castro as the winner of the record-setting November 8 lottery, with Castro accepting the lump sum prize of $997.6 million.
A technical issue with the verification process in Minnesota led to a the delay in the record-setting jackpot being confirmed before finally being revealed hours later on November 8. Last month, Castro was reported to have purchased a $25.5 million mansion in the Hollywood Hills, according to Dirt.com, a real estate publication.
"Perched on the edge of a ridge, and built into the side of a nearly sheer cliff, the blocky contemporary boasts more than 13,000 square feet of living space, complete with five bedrooms, five baths and two powder rooms. Castro paid $25.5 million for the keys, a discount off the property’s nearly $30 million original ask," Dirt.com's James McClain wrote of Castro's purchase.
Several of Castro's notable new neighbors include Ariana Grande, Dakota Johnson and Jimmy Kimmel.
The November 7, 2022, jackpot surpassed a previous record set in January 2016 when three tickets sold in California, Florida and Tennessee matched all six numbers to win the $1.586 billion jackpot. Mega Millions had last exceeded $1 billion on Friday, July 29, 2022, prior to the November 2022 drawing.
The Powerball and Mega Millions games previously offered a combined jackpot of more than $1.7 billion in January 2021.
Both jackpots increase during each following game until there's a jackpot winning ticket matching all six numbers drawn, which includes the additional Mega Millions Gold Ball or Powerball in each respective game.