Steve Tran, a resident of Northern California and a delivery truck driver, has finally come forward to claim half of a $648 million lottery as a co-winner of the second largest jackpot in the U.S. history.
Steve Tran did not realize he was the co-winner of a Mega Million lottery of $648 million for more than two weeks. He finally came forward to claim his winnings on Thursday, California Lottery officials said. The other winner, a Georgia woman identified as Ira Curry who bought her ticket in Atlanta, already claimed her winnings as a lump sum $123 million, after taxes.
Tran came forward to claim his winnings at the lottery's Sacramento HQ office, three days after he realized he had the ticket. According to the officials, Tran will first claim $173.8 million lump sum and will later clear the federal taxes, Mercury News reports.
The newest multimillionaire declined to participate in the winning press conference but shared a few details about his experience with the lottery officials. Tran said that he watched the story of the winning numbers in the news and like million other people, he wondered about the lucky winner. He and his family had gone on a vacation without checking their lottery tickets, which Tran in a pile in a drawer.
"I woke up in the middle of the night," Tran told the Lottery officials. "I remembered, I think I went to San Jose."
He then realized the winning numbers, 8, 14, 17, 20, 39 and a Mega number of 7 were among five other tickets he had bought at Jenny's Gift & Kids Wear in San Jose strip mall during his visit to the city for its large Vietnamese community.
After confirming he had won the lottery and was a millionaire, he called up his boss on Monday to resign from his current job. "I'm really sorry boss. I hit the jackpot. I don't think I'm going to come in today, tomorrow, or ever," Tran said in a message to his boss.
Tran and Curry aren't the only money drawers, the San Jose gift shop will also get $1 million for selling a jackpot winner.
