Christian BryantA California man finally stepped forward Tuesday to claim the largest jackpot in the state's history.
After waiting nearly a month and a half, B. Raymond Buxton purposefully chose to claim his enormous $425.3 million prize on April Fool's Day. As you can see, Buxton isn't too keen on letting people know who he is yet, but if his "Luck of the Jedi, I Have" shirt is any indication, I'd say he's a Star Wars fan. (Via California Lottery)
According to the California Lottery, Buxton said after discovering he had the golden ticket, “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 said in the news release he bought his winning ticket at the Dixon Landing Chevron in Milpitas after already buying a ticket for the Feb. 19 drawing. The $2 purchase netted him hundreds of millions of dollars. (Via NBC)
Buxton said he didn't tell a soul about his ticket for more than a month, but in that time he did some intense research to figure out what he wanted to do with his winnings.
According to the release, Buxton actually consulted the California Lottery's "Winners' Handbook." Who does that? Seriously?
The Los Angeles Times reports he also decided to set up "legal and financial representation" while saying he's going to use his money for traveling and setting up a charitable foundation for "pediatric health, child hunger and education."
But Buxton wasn't the only winner.
"The store owner gets a million dollars just for selling the ticket. We did identify that winner."
CASHIER: "Mr. Singh."
REPORTER: "Mr. Singh?"
CASHIER: "It's Mr. Singh."
REPORTER: "Mr. Singh now has something to sing about. He's going to get a million dollars." (Via KNTV)
Buxton chose the cash option which will only leave him with $242 million before taxes, but we think he'll still be able to take care of his little wish list.
