Brighton Beach Local Wins $130.3 Million Powerball Jackpot, Purchased At Rocco’s Bakery

Rocco's Bakery and Deli (Source: Google Maps)
Rocco’s Bakery and Deli (Source: Google Maps)

It looks like someone is going to be able to afford that penthouse in Oceana soon. Some really lucky person in Brighton Beach hit the jackpot this past Saturday when their numbers came up in the Poweball drawing, scoring them $130 million.

The  ticket was sold at Rocco’s Bakery and Deli (117 Brighton Beach Avenue), and yesterday the New York Post interviewed the manager Salah Al-Sulaimani, 33. He was so excited he was doing cartwheels in the store and getting some orders wrong. Aside from the $10,000 bonus the store gets from selling the winning ticket, he’s now expecting increased lottery sales in the future.

“The publicity is going to bring in a lot of business, a lot of people here. We’ll probably need another lottery machine,” he told the newspaper.

The holder of the ticket remains a mystery, and has not yet come forward to claim his or her prize.

For those readers unfamiliar with how lottery prizes work, the winner must choose between a 30-year annuity or a lump sum payment. The lump sum is worth about $73.4 million, with the winner getting about $45.7 million after taxes. The annuity would pay out the entire $130.3 million value with yearly payments increasing about 4 percent a year. If you ask me, which you didn’t, I’d go with the long-term value and still find a job. Or, hey, just double down; afterall, the Mega Millions Jackpot is up to $165 million – you know, if you’re willing to wait 25 years to get it all. Otherwise the lump sum gets you $89 million.