Scott Godfrey hit the nearly $700 million Powerball jackpot in October. He said, “At first it’s like you don’t think it’s real, like there’s something wrong with the ticket. You think it can’t actually be that.”
A private man, he didn’t want us to show his face on camera. But the spotlight found him after he bought the winning ticket at the Albertsons on Quintana Road in Morro Bay.
“I saw actually a news report on TV where they had a dark image of the store in the morning and I realized I had been there last night and thought about the ticket,” Godfrey said. “Everybody thinks there’s a possibility of winning. It’s so infrequent that you can’t imagine it being you so it’s pretty special when you find out.”
His Quick Pick ticket landed him the fifth-largest Powerball jackpot and the seventh-largest jackpot in overall lottery history.
He chose a lump sum payout of $496 million minus federal taxes.
So what is he going to do with all that money? He said, “We’ve already set up a foundation that’s going to receive quite a bit of the money for working on deliberate charitable things.”
He’s making good on that promise. Thursday, he donated toys to KSBY’s Season of Hope Campaign with the help of some California lottery representatives.
It’s safe to say he’s not the only winner that day. Albertsons, where the ticket was sold, will receive a bonus of $1 million.
Carolyn Becker with the California Lottery said, “Schools across California across all 58 counties get to see part of this $78 million for services and programs those kids might not otherwise have access to.”
Godfrey said, “We feel blessed and we feel like there is a direct reason that we were entrusted with this. That’s why we were so deliberate that this goes and does as much good to those who are less fortunate as possible.”
If you win the lottery in California, officials are required to publish your name as well as the location where the winning ticket was bought.
© 2023 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.