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Edwin Castro, who is 30 years old, emerged as the winner of the $2 billion Powerball jackpot and recently purchased a mansion worth $25.5 million in Los Angeles. Zillow records reveal that the house was sold on March 1, 2023. Castro won the jackpot last month and received around $997.6 million as a onetime lump sum payment.
Although the house was listed for $29.95 million, it seems Castro bought it for a lesser amount. He has not spoken to the media yet, but he released a statement to the public saying that he is shocked and ecstatic to have won the lottery but that the California public school system is the real winner.
As per the New York Post, he said:
"The mission of the California Lottery, which is to provide supplemental funding for California public education–both public schools and colleges–makes this a huge win for the state."
Edwin Castro was reportedly a Boy Scout
According to online sources, Edwin Castro was a Boy Scout and an athlete when he was in high school. He was raised in Los Angeles and studied at Crescents Valley High School in La Crescenta, California. He then went to Woodbury University, where he studied architecture. He was also a football and baseball player during his high school days.
He bought his lottery ticket from Joe's Service Center, located near his high school. After winning the Powerball jackpot, he purchased the Hollywood Hills mansion that features some top-notch facilities.
It is a 14,000-square-foot mansion and has been built on 0.58 acres of land. The house has five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, along with an outdoor infinity pool and fireplace. The house also includes a gym, garage parking for seven cars, and a motor court. Roman James created the house in 2022, and it is around three stories tall.
The main level features a central living area, fireplace, and kitchen, and the lower one has a gym, cold-plunge pool, wine cellar, movie theater, and sauna. The penthouse section of the house has a private balcony, a rooftop deck, and a garage for two cars.
The listing was hosted by Stefan Pommepuy and H. Blair Chang of The Agency, with Drew Fenton of Carolwood Estates. The buyer was represented by Max Lindenberger of Back Bay Realty Group.
Lawsuit filed against Edwin Castro
California-based Jose Rivers filed a lawsuit against Castro in February 2023, claiming that the latter stole his ticket. Rivers said that he purchased the ticket from the same place on November 7, 2022.
According to the lawsuit, an individual named "Reggie" stole the ticket, and the latter told Rivers that he would return the ticket only if Rivers decided to equally divide the winning amount. However, Jose reported the incident to the California Lottery, asking for an investigation before the winner's name was announced.
According to the lawsuit, Reggie and Rivers are two different people, but there are no details available on how they were involved in the theft.
