PHOENIX, AZ -- (Marketwire) -- 12/07/12 -- The Arizona Lottery hosted a press conference today, Dec. 7, 2012, to announce the Arizona Powerball jackpot winning ticket being claimed by an Arizona resident.

The $587.5 million jackpot is the largest in Powerball history, with a cash option of $384.7 million, before taxes. The Arizona winner will share the record-breaking Powerball jackpot with the jackpot winners from Missouri, Mark and Cindy Hill. He elected to take the cash option and will receive a lump sum of $192 million, before taxes.

The winner is married, in his thirties and resides in Fountain Hills, Arizona, the town where the winning ticket was purchased. He and his wife are originally from Pennsylvania and relocated to Arizona last year. He used to play Powerball all the time, but has only played twice since living in Arizona.

The day of the draw, the winner went to 4 Sons Food Store and asked for $10 in Powerball Quick Pick tickets and handed the clerk a $20 bill. The clerk asked if he would like the full $20 in tickets instead, to which the winner replied "no." After leaving the store, the winner placed the ticket in his car visor and left it there overnight. The next morning, when he heard there was a winner from Arizona, he checked the winning numbers on ArizonaLottery.com and couldn't believe his eyes.

The winner immediately pulled together a legal and financial team to advise him and outlined a day-by-day plan. When the winner claimed his ticket today, he indicated that he and his family are creating a solid financial plan for the future, which will include setting up a charitable organization to benefit the causes they believe in.

The winner decided to decline publicity, but issued the following statement:

It is difficult to express just how thankful we are for this wonderful gift. We are extremely grateful and feel fortunate to now have an increased ability to support our charities and causes. Obviously, this has been incredibly overwhelming and we have always cherished our privacy. Therefore, we ask that inquiries be directed only to our law firm, Rhoads & Sinon LLP at 717-237-6765 or at arizona@rhoads-sinon.com. Thank you.

"It has been an extremely busy and exciting week for the Arizona Lottery," said Karen Bach, director of budget, products and communications for the Arizona Lottery. "It was a thrill to meet with the Arizona Powerball jackpot winner this morning, and after all the speculation, we are very pleased the winner is an Arizona resident."

The winning Arizona Powerball jackpot ticket was purchased at the 4 Sons Food Store in Fountain Hills located at 13779 N. Fountain Hills Blvd. The store will receive a check for $25,000, the established retailer incentive for selling a winning Powerball jackpot ticket in Arizona.

The Arizona Lottery offices will be closed for the weekend and will reopen for business Monday, December 10 at 8 a.m.

About the Arizona Lottery
The Arizona Lottery operates entirely from the revenue it generates through the sale of its products; it receives no General Fund dollars from the State. Proceeds from sales of Lottery tickets -- over $3 million per week -- fund a variety of state programs. Since July 1981, the Arizona Lottery has paid out more than $5 billion in prizes to players, over $2.8 billion in net profit to the state and almost $591 million in commissions to retailers.

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