Joe Chahayed, 75, can wish you good luck in four languages. He called out variations of that greeting the day after news broke that he had sold the winning Powerball ticket for the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history.
The winner of the $2.04 billion hasn’t revealed themselves, much less dropped by Joe’s Service Center, a Mobil gas station on Woodbury Road and Fair Oaks Avenue in Altadena. But a steady stream of customers did, paying for gas and buying Lotto tickets. Many asked Joe to pose for selfies with them before calling out their congratulations.
“Buena suerte, bon chance, good luck, I can say it in Arabic too,” Chahayed said, as he held court in the store, making change, printing tickets, and shooting the breeze with customers.
His son Danny, 33, who helps run the service station, said even with the $1 million windfall, his father won’t stop working.
“He’s never taken a day off or a vacation, he’s a working man,” he said. The family also owns another gas station in North Hollywood. “He opens at 6 and he’s here till 3 or 4, six days a week. Sundays he goes to church at St. Anne’s in North Hollywood.”
Chahayed said he hopes one of his regulars is the new billionaire. He or she can choose a reduced amount in a lump sum of about $997.6 million or the full $2.04 billion if paid over 30 years. Either way, under California rules, the ticket holder cannot remain anonymous.
David Kauls, lottery sales manager at the Chatsworth District Office, said we could be in for a long wait. The state’s last two jackpot winners, from Morro Bay and Woodland Hills, did not show up to claim their prizes for about two months after the draw.
“They normally go hire an attorney or financial advisor,” he said. “The Chino Hills winner (of over $500 million) from years ago, waited more than six months.”
The jackpot winner has one year to come forward. Once the claim is submitted, a security team vets it, then sends it to the prize payments division for payment. The state controller’s office makes the payment. Only then do lottery officials go public with the winner’s name.
Cecilio Garcia, 68, buys Lotto tickets from Joe’s most Mondays and Fridays. He lives two blocks away. The retired gardener dropped by the store on Wednesday to turn in $8 worth of winning tickets. He used that cash to buy one Powerball and one Super Lotto entry, along with a pack of Marlboro Lights.
“I buy my tickets, I keep them in my glove compartment, then I turn them in,” Garcia said. “I usually get Quick Picks. I do it because hopefully, luck will hit me and make my life easier and I can help my family.”
Chahayed said family is his barometer for success. The Syrian American immigrant has been married 51 years and has five children and 11 grandchildren. He’s owned his business for 23 years.
“What is the good life? It’s family,” he said. “My kids, my grandkids, that’s my life.”
Nurse Maribel Lucas of Altadena said she and her family pump gas at Joe’s Service Center.
“It was crazy. I live right across the street, and when they said the winner was from Altadena, my boyfriend left work to check our tickets, but nothing,” Lucas said. “We do a pool at work and now everyone’s saying I have to buy it from there, and I will.”
This week’s Powerball jackpot is at $20 million. Chahayed, for one, is rooting for them.
“Every customer I tell them good luck, and if they don’t win, I say, ‘Try again,” Chahayed said. “There’s always hope for next time.’”
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