A Pomona nurse is likely not the California Powerball jackpot winner, furthering the mystery of the newly minted millionaire.
Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for the owner of Park Avenue Healthcare and Wellness Center told NBC4 and other news outlets that a senior nurse at the facility had won the prize with a ticket purchased by her boss.
John Nass, a personal spokesman for Shlomo Rechnitz, who owns a chain of 80 nursing facilities in California, told NBC4 that Rechnitz bought around 18,000 tickets for all of his employees.
Nass said the nurse's son notified her by text message, and even though she thought she won, she finished her shift Wednesday night. Nass added that the veracity of the winning ticket was between the woman and lottery officials.
It now appears to have been a misunderstanding.
California Lottery spokesman Alex Traverso said officials were skeptical of the claim after seeing a photo of the ticket.
"Someone actually sent me a picture of the alleged ticket and the retailer ID came up as a different store, so right now we’re inclined to think it’s a fake," Traverso told NBC4.
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A woman who identified herself as the daughter of the nurse told the Los Angeles Times the confusion stemmed from a photo of a ticket that was sent to her mother.
California Lottery officials confirmed Wednesday that only three winning tickets had been sold in the United States. Those were sold in Chino Hills, California, as well as Tennessee, and Florida.
The three winners will share in the record $1.6 billion jackpot, if they come forward to claim their tickets.
Multiple claims have been made on social media regarding the identity of the winner, but no one has officially made a claim with the California Lottery.
