PHOENIX — The second winner of the $587.5 million Powerball jackpot is a 37-year-old electronics industry professional who grew up in a modest home in Pennsylvania and moved to an affluent Phoenix suburb last year before striking it rich in the lotto.
The winner is Matthew Good of Fountain Hills, who chose to remain anonymous after claiming the prize last week. Lottery winners in Arizona are a matter of public record, and The Associated Press filed a public records request to learn his name.
Mr. Good took the one-time payout of $192 million from the Nov. 28 drawing, telling lottery officials the looming fiscal cliff was the reason he claimed the winnings now and not in the next calendar year. He had 180 days to claim his share of the jackpot.
Mr. Good grew up on a working-class block in Wormleysburg, Pa., near Harrisburg. His stepmother, Charlotte Good, said in an interview with the AP that Mr. Good was “a typical kid” who has always worked hard. She said he waited until Saturday to phone his father, Ray, with the news.
“My husband, he just can’t get over it,” said Charlotte Good, 63, a retired state Revenue Department employee. “It’s his son.”
He told his father “they’re out of sight and they would contact him,” she said.
No one answered the door Monday at Mr. Good’s home, which has a tile roof and desert landscaping.
Property records showed that Mr. Good paid $289,900 for the 2,500-square-foot home in September 2011.
Mr. Good previously issued a statement that said: “It is difficult to express just how thankful we are for this wonderful gift. We are extremely grateful and feel fortunate to now have an increased ability to support our charities and causes. Obviously, this has been incredibly overwhelming and we have always cherished our privacy.”
A LinkedIn profile for Matthew Good in Fountain Hills lists him as a training manager for an electronics company.
Mr. Good bought $10 worth of tickets and kept the winner in the visor of his car overnight before realizing he was an instant multimillionaire.
Lotto officials said he gave $20 to the cashier of a Fountain Hills convenience store, and the clerk nudged him to spend the entire amount on tickets. He declined the offer.
After Mr. Good and his wife learned of their good fortune, he pulled together a team of financial advisers and decided to take his share this month to avoid potentially higher taxes in 2013.
Lottery officials said Mr. Good’s wife owns half the prize because Arizona is a community property state.
A mechanic and his wife, Mark and Cindy Hill, of Dearborn, Mo., already have claimed their half of the multistate Powerball prize.
The jackpot was the second-largest one in U.S. history and set off a nationwide buying frenzy. At one point, tickets were selling at nearly 130,000 a minute.
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