Daughter says Pomona woman didn’t win Powerball
The identity of California’s newest multimillionaire remained a mystery today, with the holder of a winning Powerball ticket purchased in Chino Hills not yet coming forward, but rumors about a Pomona nurse possibly being the lucky person sparked a late-day media frenzy.
A spokesman for nursing home owner Shlomo Rechnitz told the Jewish Journal a winning ticket was given by Rechnitz to a 62-year-old nurse at Park Avenue Healthcare and Wellness Center in Pomona. The spokesman said it was one of 18,000 Powerball tickets Rechnitz purchased and distributed to employees and patients at all of the nursing homes he owns.
When news of the potential winner began breaking late this afternoon, media outlets raced to the hospital to chase the story, but Lottery officials quickly expressed skepticism, insisting no one had yet come forward with a valid winning ticket.
A short time later, one of the nurse’s daughters told the Los Angeles Times there was a misunderstanding about the ticket, and she had not actually won the jackpot.
Winning tickets for the $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot were sold in Chino Hills, Florida and Tennessee. The Chino Hills ticket was sold at a 7-Eleven store, 492 Chino Hills Parkway.
Earlier today, a man who bought a ticket in Pacoima that matched five numbers, but not the Powerball number of 10, came forward to claim his prize. Arturo Velasquez was one of 12 people in the state who matched five numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing.
“I’m a little sad. I wanted to win it all,” Velasquez said in an interview with Lottery officials.
The news wasn’t all bad for Velasquez, who still won $638,146 for matching the numbers 4, 8, 19, 27 and 34.
