Customer returns orange juice, walks away with $315 million windfall in store
In a remarkable turn of events, Tayeb Souami, a married father-of-two based in New Jersey, won a staggering $315 million Powerball jackpot in 2018 [1]. The win came after an seemingly ordinary event where he returned a $5 carton of orange juice to a store.
Souami, who was an accountant for a food importer at the time, had initially intended to cut spending by returning the expensive juice. While waiting to get his refund at the ShopRite in Hackensack, he noticed the Powerball jackpot had grown [1]. Using the refunded money, he decided to buy lottery tickets, which ultimately led to winning the massive jackpot on May 19, 2018.
The win occurred just as the family was managing finances tightly, having recently refinanced their home to pay for their children's college tuition. The $5 lottery ticket purchase turned out to be life-changing [1].
After winning, Souami chose the lump sum payout option and, after taxes, took home approximately $183 million to over $211 million, depending on sources [2][4].
At a press conference, Souami revealed that his priority after winning the jackpot was to support his son and daughter's education [3]. He joked that he would be buying a lot more juice after his win [3]. However, he did not voice any interest in splashing out on anything extravagant for himself and his wife.
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[1] [Source 1] [2] [Source 2] [3] [Source 3] [4] [Source 4]
Despite being an accountant, Souami's personal-finance situation was challenging due to paying for their children's college tuition and managing the recently refinanced home mortgage. However, his decision to purchase a $5 lottery ticket using the refunded money from returning an expensive carton of orange juice drastically changed their financial situation, leading to winning a $315 million Powerball jackpot.
