Sporting a "Luck of the Jedi I Have" T-shirt, a California retiree stepped forward Tuesday to claim a $425 million Powerball jackpot a month and a half after he bought the winning ticket.
And yes, B. Raymond Buxton knows it's April Fools Day — he specially chose April 1 to visit California Lottery headquarters in Sacramento, lottery officials said.
"'Unbelievable!' is all I could muster," Buxton said, according to the lottery. "I sat in front of the computer for hours in disbelief, frequently checking and rechecking the numbers across multiple sources. Once the initial shock passed, I couldn't sleep for days."
Buxton — who the lottery would only say is retired and lives in Northern California — was grabbing lunch at a Subway inside a convenience store in Milpitas when he decided to buy a second ticket Feb. 19.
It was that second ticket — a $2 impulse purchase — that hit it big.Why did he wait to come forward?
Buxton told lottery officials he had consulted the California Lottery's Winner's Handbook, which is replete with time-consuming advice like consulting an attorney, drawing up a financial plan and deciding whether to spread out the money over many years or take a smaller lump sum — the option Buxton chose, worth $242.2 million before taxes.
Buxton told the lottery he plans to set up a charitable foundation focused on pediatric health, child hunger and education.