West Allis man, Manuel Franco, wins $768 million Powerball jackpot. Watch his post-win interview.

I just want to start by saying thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout the years so my name is Manuel Franco I am actually 24 years old I really wish that I was a New Berlin resident I know that a lot of people in New Berlin really wanted a new real resident unfortunately that's not the case I am actually from West Allis and I that's pretty much my home for a while so the story that uh how I won is a bit of a tail at around 2 p.m. I had left work and I pretty much felt lucky you know it's a weird lucky feeling it's not natural not normal at all but I walk into the Speedway in New Berlin and I purchased ten dollars worth of individual well Powerball tickets and I honestly felt so lucky that I did look up at the camera and I really wanted the wink at it because I just had that lucky feeling and I know Cindy here has seen it and she knows that it is true that I'd look up at that camera I really did feel the wink so I'm kind of disappointed in that but that's alright I did stop at that Speedway 13 minutes after work I don't know if I said that or not so how I ended up finding out that I wanna actually do not watch the drawings at nighttime I didn't even check in the morning I went to work not even knowing any better to check my my tickets I left work that day and I remember at work hearing that you know Powerball winner in Wisconsin and I never thought two things about it at all I got home and I see the tickets that me and my girlfriend had bought together and that's really what reminded me of the Powerball I went to go grab those two tickets that we had bought together and I went on my computer and I searched up the Powerball numbers and you know all the news articles that you see underneath the the Powerball numbers sad Wisconsin winner and I'm like well I live in Wisconsin so that's all I knew and I went through the tickets that me and her had bought together and nothing so I'm I was disappointed I go into my wallet and I reach for the tickets that I had bought those ten dollars worth of tickets all individual and I go through them and I think it was a third ticket I did win four dollars I was super excited well that doesn't happen very often never claimed it by the way before books I get to what I thought was the last ticket and it didn't win obviously I had all the tickets in my left hand and I swapped them over to my right because I was discarding them as I went and all of a sudden as I change hands I see that last ticket come out it was so attached to the other one and I'm thinking oh my god like no way and as dramatically as I have said it to many of my friends and families I looked at it one number at a time and I saw that first number I didn't think anything of it but I knew that it was something special because I normally don't get the first number it's over the fourth or the fifth or you know just the Powerball and I see that second number and my heart starts to pump and why not and at that moment I'm like no no freakin way you know like I pull that ticket in front of it often I go straight to that Powerball number and I look at it and it matched in at this moment I was going insane pretty much and I look back at the three other numbers and they all matched and I don't want to embarrass myself in live TV right now but what I can explain is a it was amazing my heart started racing blood pumping and my blood felt worm I screamed for about five or ten minutes good thing that my neighbors didn't hear you know it's uh it's really amazing to to just when they just check so I played Powerball since I first could when I was 18 years old six years ago so I am 24 my very first birthday when I was 18 I did actually buy a Powerball ticket so it's it's great to actually win so obviously everyone always hopes when you buy a ticket to actually win it and I can tell you right now that when I won I wasn't I wasn't ready for it I wasn't ready for it at all and I got that paranoia that you get and or you think the whole world's after you and now I found out that realistically if you don't tell anybody nobody knows and that's how I guess I got to here so I'm not sure what the next chapter is gonna bring for my life but I have been setting up being the best financial team the best lawyer team that I could I just really want to thank Andrew here because he made me much more confident in myself to be here to claim that ticket and without him I don't think that uh I'd be I'd be here right now talking but uh yeah it's just it's amazing it feels like a dream and it feels honestly like any moment I'm gonna wake up and I'm just gonna be back in my room you know and it's gonna be a disappointment but I can see that you guys are all here and it's not that way I simply just can't believe that an ordinary guy like me could ever win I win the Powerball the to two dollars you spend on the ticket for that hope that you do win is it's worth it and I know that because I've won but it is realistically worth it and it's amazing thank you guys for being here and that's uh that's all I have to say about my statement I will answer a couple questions after could you sleep it almost not knowing that today with I couldn't sleep any any day three or four hours a day you know that's about it what are the first things I'm not sure yet right now what I do know is that I want to take a break one just let it sink in make sure I'm not making any bad decisions or anything like that do you want to be responsible I do help I do want to help out the world and you know places but I have to do it correctly and I have to make sure that my future is secure after discussion I wanted to take the annuity but I have been convinced otherwise so I am taking the lump sum I think we're related come out of the woodwork yet are you prepared for that I'm ready and I know how to say no to random people but if he's related you know I gotta go I am ready for that tell us where you grew up where you went to high school that's something that I wish I could but I'm not right now I'm not gonna disclose that so the second day of work I knew that that one I honestly couldn't work I was just uh I was sweating so much that I'm sure that everyone at work noticed but and I really wanted to say something that dint anybody there and I knew that it was a bad decision and I pretty much never showed up for work again that's what happened how do you plan to continue living a good quote unquote normal life moving forward as much as I can yeah and I do want to make clear this ticket was not the one you purchased with your girlfriend this with your this was my ticket yes and it's really strange for her to actually want to buy Powerball tickets because she normally doesn't play I'm the one that place and I normally have just $5.00 I spend every you know Powerball drawing so I end up spending about ten dollars a week on Powerball tickets or lottery tickets we all dream about what we'll do if we'll win what were your dreams before you want I just really wanted to travel the world you know it's not like that I'm not a big guy that's gonna go buy fancy stuff like well of course I might go buy fancy stuff but nothing too big and I'm sure you'll never see me as like one of the people who you don't think went bankrupt and broke or anything like that I plan to live my life normal as as much as possible no I'm not I do speak Spanish I am content okay Ghana and essence when you okay nunca creo que pelea poisson East Libyan content of the blanket and yeah yeah thank you I don't think so what was your biggest money concern before with trying to get that bank account to a thousand dollars that's my biggest concern yeah yes I can say that I was born in Milwaukee currently no and I'm not really gonna disclose too much I actually don't know myself whether or not I want to stay or not I won't discuss that either [Music] [Music] Andrew stolen sto LT ma nn mr. journey well it's only been what like three and a half weeks so pretty soon that's I guess that's all I'm gonna say what kinds of dreams have you been having about what you can do it sounds like you want to help people so what kinds of things have you been thinking about that's it's amazing to be in your position I just what I've been thinking is that I want to make sure that if I'm helping out somebody that it's actually you know my money is actually going to go and actually help somebody out like I don't know I understand that there are other charities but I want to make sure that I'm actually doing a difference possibly possibly it's something that I have to think about but like right now I have to just let that moment sink in and understand that I don't want to make any bad decisions have you bought any more Powerball tickets I don't plan to play anymore did you actually wait at the camera or you felt like I wanted to I really did and that's why I looked up and I didn't do it no my dad cried a lot my mom she thought I was in trouble and she she's and she's like you need to tell me the truth like does that really look what happened I said yes that is true I want this yeah I won't discuss anything like that for family members yes like if they do want to continue school I will help them with their education yes are you still driving the same car you were driving when you were going to work yes it's new ish one of the past three and a half weeks been like for you kind of keeping this away from the public eye how have you been living your life have you been on the edge here people are gonna find out oh for sure yeah like I said like I I honestly thought there was like somebody behind me every single day and is it is really hard to live your life knowing that you have you know the ticket that everyone wants but realistically it it wasn't that for me and there was nobody behind me I just felt that way how did I claim the ticket I came in today I have my attorney deal with most of that what have you been doing with the ticket since the day when you realize you looked at it can you tell us what you did secure it I'd like to bring you here yeah I mean what where's the ticket been for the last three and a half weeks oh I kept it in a safe but in mouth somewhere yeah a couple people didn't know yeah so was this money you you thought you could ever have on your own without the lottery oh no don't no no I need them a lot of yourself for this one I'm gonna answer one more question and then that's it what's the next thing you're gonna do when you walk out of here today as part of your bidding I'm just gonna take off somewhere and just honestly just take my time with it just think it over and I talked to my family and just make sure that I'm doing it I'm spending their money the right way no and I think that's it you

Channel: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Views: 1,051,767

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Id: R_pDrt1np1U

Length: 14min 21sec (861 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 23 2019