Where past $1 billion-plus Powerball winners are today

Life after winning isn’t always a prize!

Excitement over the thrilling $1.1 billion Powerball jackpot reached a fever pitch Monday — but history shows luck often runs out for former big winners.

Past $1 billion-plus Powerball winners include a former California mechanic who has since been plagued by legal trouble and saw his Malibu mansion burn down, a Laotian immigrant who’s fighting cancer in Oregon, and a “humble” grandpa who’s reportedly still driving the same rickety old truck.

Here’s a look at where they stand today:

Edwin Castro, $2.04 billion

After his massive windfall, Castro, 33 — who won the historically high jackpot in California in November 2022 — was hit with a lawsuit accusing him of stealing the winning ticket.

The lawsuit, in which Jose Rivera sought all of the jackpot money, was dismissed in October 2024  — just a few months before the Palisades wildfire reduced Castro’s luxurious $3.8 million Malibu mansion to ashes.

But Castro’s post-lotto life hasn’t been completely cursed. Last summer, he went public with his new girlfriend, Payten Vincent, 24, a self-described bikini model and poet and has been snapping up high-end rides, like a gleaming 911 Porsche Turbo Coupe from the 1980s.

Cheng “Charlie” Saephan, $1.3 billion

Meanwhile, lucky player Saephan — who won the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot in US history in April 2024 — said recently his ailing health matters more than all the money in the world.

Saephan, 47, of Portland, Oregon, who was diagnosed with cancer nine years ago, is “still fighting”  the disease despite his goal of finding “a good doctor” with his new fortune, he said in April.

Since his windfall, he has undergone two surgeries and has opted to stay in the Portland area and live a “simple life,” according to an update from OregonLottery.org

The former aerospace machinist also treated himself to a neon-green Lamborghini, took a trip to Vegas and has invested in a local Thai restaurant group with his dough.

Theodorus Struyck, $1.76 billion

Others winners are living even less glamorous lives. Struyck, 66, who hit the massive windfall with friends in California in October 2023, was reportedly spotted staying with family at a modest home in San Diego — and still driving his same old truck — a year after his big win.

The “humble” grandpa and retired UPS worker was also reportedly hunting for a million-dollar pad in the area in April 2024.

Other winners

Two other billion-dollar-plus Powerball jackpots have hit before — one for $1.58 billion in 2016 that was split between California, Florida and Tennessee, and the other in 2023 for a cool $1.08 billion. Those winners, however, have managed to keep their lives under wraps.

Powerball frenzy hits the Big Apple

Excited New Yorkers flocked to shops where past players have hit it big ahead of Monday night’s estimated $1.1 billion Powerball jackpot.

Eric, a 50-year-old traffic cop, spent $20 on Powerball tickets at the Hua Lian Supermarket in Flushing, Queens, where a winning $256 million ticket was sold in December.

“If there’s a high ratio of winners at this store, this is the one I’m going to. It’s where the pot of gold is,” he said. “I could retire early and take care of my family and pursue my dreams.”

Tomas Cruz, 62, said he planned to double the number of tickets he usually buys. 

“Today so far I have already bought seven. This is my lucky store. I have to buy three more from my other lucky stores,” he said. 

Louie Gerena, 56, a security guard from Harlem, was fantasizing about winning the jackpot so he could leave the Big Apple for greener pastures.

“I’d probably go to Maine where my daughters live. Have fun, drive around town in my Ferrari, Bentley. You know, and spoil my daughters and grandkids,” said Gerena.

Gerena bought his tickets from Esam Deli, which sold the twin winning Mega Millions tickets for the Aug. 15 drawing on the same day.

“I hope somebody that wins it does positive things with it,” said Powerball player S. Williams, of Harlem. “You know, don’t waste it.”