Escondido Woman Wins $13.1 Million in Lottery

An Escondido grandmother who buys about $10 in Lotto tickets a week hit the jackpot Wednesday night, winning $13.1 million as the only player in California to pick all six winning numbers in the mid-week Lotto 6/49 drawing.

She wasted little time claiming her winnings, showing up at the lottery’s San Diego regional office with her daughter and granddaughter at 1 p.m. Thursday.

“They were very, very excited,” said Charlie Rich, spokesman for the lottery in San Diego.

Her winnings will amount to $656,000 annually for 20 years before taxes, or $524,000 after taxes are withheld. She is expected to receive her first check in January, officials said.

Identity Not Revealed

The winner will not be identified until today because of a 24-hour stay while security officials check the validity of the winning ticket--in this case, a computer Quick Pick purchased at the Korner Market in the 400 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Escondido.

Riyad Abifaker, who owns the store, said the woman, whom he knows only as Carol, called his store Wednesday night to confirm that she had heard what she thought she had heard on the television.

“She screamed and yelled,” he said.

Abifaker will share in the victory, winning a 0.5% commission on the haul--about $65,000, which he said will help pay for the store’s remodeling.

Officials at Hewlett-Packard Co. in Rancho Bernardo confirmed that the woman works in the tape library of the company’s data processing department. They declined further comment, except to say that she is a likable, easygoing woman.

And, they said, she called in sick Thursday.

Lottery officials said the woman already has indicated she will shy away from publicity, turning down an invitation to appear at a press conference, and she asked that no information about her identity be disclosed other than her name, which is required by lottery rules.

Abifaker said he still holds out hope that she will at least come by the store in person so they can shake hands.

“We’ve been waiting to see her,” he said. “We’d just like her to come by one more time.”

He said she regularly buys about $5 worth of Lotto tickets for each semi-weekly game.

Jackpot Revised

The amount of the jackpot was originally estimated at $12.78 million, but was raised to $13.12 million after lottery officials in Sacramento determined more precisely what her winnings would be after figuring in the current value of the annuity that is purchased by the state to pay off the 20 annual installments.

Three Lotto players will share the second prize for having picked five of the six numbers plus the bonus number. They live in Irvine, Richmond and San Rafael, and won $571,176 each.

Winning $4,204 each are 210 persons who correctly selected five numbers without also picking the bonus number.

The winning numbers were: 14, 15, 41, 42, 45 and 46. The bonus number was 23.