Powerball winner who won $768 million prize was a guy with less than $1,000 in his bank account

People do try to figure out the arithmetic behind a lottery to increase their chances of hitting the jackpot, but it all eventually boils down to luck. That's why a Wisconsin man ended up winning the third-largest lottery prize in U.S. history based on a hunch. Manuel Franco bought 10 tickets for the Powerball on a fine spring day as he was feeling very lucky. He went to work the next day only to find out that he had hit the $768.4 million jackpot, as per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal.

A Sign From the Universe

The 24-year-old detailed his story in a press conference after claiming his prize from the lottery. The resident of West Allis said that he bought the 10 tickets at a Speedway on Beloit Road in New Berlin, a suburb of Milwaukee.

That day he left work and went to the store a few minutes later to buy tickets worth $10, as he was feeling particularly lucky. Franco claimed that he felt so lucky that he even looked into the security camera and thought of winking at it. 

Franco shared that before hitting the jackpot, his biggest concern in life was to push his bank balance up to at least $1,000. Thus, the day after buying the tickets, he judiciously went to work, without even looking at the previous night's draw.

He shared that during the day, he heard the buzz among his co-workers that someone from Wisconsin had hit the jackpot, and that felt like a good sign. 

After getting home that day, Franco first checked the tickets that he and his girlfriend had purchased together but there were no winners. He then checked the 10 tickets that he purchased on his lucky day, and the third one among them had only won $4. Finally, the 10th ticket he checked turned out to be the lucky winner that matched all the jackpot numbers. As per Powerball, the winning numbers were 16, 20, 37, 44, 62.

Franco said that his heart started racing and he screamed for about five to 10 minutes after realizing that he had won. He added that his dad broke into tears after hearing the news. 

Due to strong ticket sales, the jackpot went up to a whopping $768.4 million. Franco had the option to take a lump sum amount of $477 million or receive the full amount in 30 annuity payments. The lucky winner chose the first option and took home about $326 million, according to Fox6.

While Franco wasn't sure about what he would do with the money, he said he definitely would not become one of those winners who go bankrupt in the future. "I plan to live my life normal as much as possible,” he added.

Franco's jackpot ranks as the third largest in U.S. lottery history at the time after the $1.537 billion Mega Millions Jackpot and the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot won in 2016.