2 Lotto Winners, Store Owners Will Share $32.3 Million

Although the two jackpot winners in Orange County who picked all six winning numbers for a half share in $32.3 million in the midweek Lotto 6/53 drawing have not been identified, one store owner was wearing a big smile Thursday.

“It’s my second time that this has happened here,” said a jubilant James Park, owner of Santa Liquor Market & Deli on South Harbor Boulevard, who sold one of the winning Lotto tickets.

In December, Park and his wife June sold the winning jackpot ticket worth $10 million to a Santa Ana mobile home park assistant manager. Their share for selling the winning ticket was $50,500, which they said was used to help buy a new home.

Susan Kossack, a state lottery spokeswoman, said that as a retailer, Park is entitled to one half of 1% of the winning ticket. This time, the Parks will receive about $82,000, Kossack said.

The $32.3 million is the 10th largest jackpot in the four-year history of the lottery, Kossack said.

Wednesday’s winners each will get more than $16 million. The numbers drawn Wednesday night were 16, 23, 26, 34, 35 and 38. The bonus number was 3.

“A man who said he bought his ticket at the Santa Ana store did come forward, but we have not processed the claim yet. He came in just this afternoon (Thursday),” Kossack said.

Both winning tickets were sold in Orange County. The other winning ticket was sold at Chappy’s Liquor store in the 9600 block of Chapman Avenue in Garden Grove.

A store clerk at Chappy’s said she could not immediately reach the store’s owners.

Each ticket must be validated before the winners can receive their money. But Kossack said each winner will receive annual payments of $820,000 for the next 20 years. The net annual payment after taxes is $656,000, she said.

Kossack said the names of the winners will be announced at a 2 p.m. press conference today at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.

In the five-of-six-plus bonus category, other players stand to collect $177,952 apiece on two tickets purchased in Los Angeles, and on four others bought in San Ramon, San Diego, Poway and Oxnard.

Sales for the game totaled $19.4 million. The jackpot for Saturday’s drawing was estimated at $4 million.

Times staff writer John Lee in Los Angeles contributed to this report.