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Woman claiming to win $1 billion Powerball 'just wanted to be on TV,' storeowner's family says


Woman claiming to win $1 billion Powerball 'just wanted to be on TV,' storeowner's family says (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
Woman claiming to win $1 billion Powerball 'just wanted to be on TV,' storeowner's family says (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
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A winning ticket for the $1 billion Powerball jackpot was sold in California but a hysterical woman caused some confusion about who the real winner is.

An unidentified woman seen in a video by Inside Edition shows her entering the store near Skid Row in Los Angelesand crying while responding "yes" to a reporter who asked about the winning ticket. She then quickly leaves the store and gets into her car.

The granddaughter of store manager Navor Herrera, Sarai Palacios, told the Daily Mail the woman had not won the jackpot.

She didn't win – I'm not sure why she did that. I guess she just wanted to be on TV," Palacios said.

She added the winner has not come forward yet.

The woman can be heard in the video saying,"I'm scared right now. I'm so scared," as she hugged people in the store.

Herrera told reporters he didn't know his store had sold the winning ticket until he arrived Thursday morning.

Under Powerball rules in California, the retailer that sells the winning ticket gets a 0.5% share of the jackpot, and the reward is capped at $1 million.

Herrera said he plans to take his family on vacation.

The largest Powerball jackpot ever was $2.04 billion in November, also in California, making Thursday the second time in less than a year that someone in Los Angeles County has become a Powerball billionaire.

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