Before sunrise Thursday, a stream of curiosity seekers and reporters descended upon the Lakeside Grocery & Deli in Pell Lake, Wis., which staked the claim to selling the nation’s richest winning lottery ticket.
But the news of the day was quickly emerging 50 miles away in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, where, by early afternoon, a retired electrician and his family were breaking open bottles of champagne in a Streamwood tavern as jubilant friends and relatives cheered.
Frank Capaci, 67, his wife, Shirley, and their three adult sons claimed to hold the only winning ticket in Wednesday night’s drawing of the multi-state Powerball game.
Though Wisconsin lottery officials said Thursday that no one had officially stepped forward to claim the prize, Capaci produced a photocopy of what he said was the lone winner among 138 million tickets sold.
The copy bore the magic combination: 4, 9, 30, 34, 48 and Powerball 8. Capaci said he had stashed the real ticket in a safety-deposit box at a Streamwood bank.
“All my life I worked and learned that I never got nothing for nothing,” Capaci said as corks popped at Bill’s on Bartlett, the tavern and pizza joint that he and his wife have frequented for years. “I’ve always worked for what I got. Therefore it just hasn’t set in.”
Don Walsh, a division director for the Wisconsin Lottery, said he received a faxed copy of the Capacis’ ticket Thursday afternoon. He said it appeared to be legitimate. He also spoke with Capaci by phone, and the two plan to meet soon to verify the ticket.
But Walsh said he could not confirm that the Capacis hold the winner until lottery officials see the real ticket and the Streamwood couple signs a claim form.
“I don’t think it’s a prank,” Walsh said. “The ball is in his court, and we’re waiting for him to come forward.”
At the time of purchase, the ticket’s buyer chose to have the winnings delivered in a lump-sum payment worth $104 million instead of payments totaling $195 million over 25 years, lottery officials said. After taxes, Walsh said, the winner will get about $54 million. If the ticket checks out, the Capacis could collect as early as next week.
The previous biggest U.S. lottery jackpot was $118.8 million, won in the California Lottery in 1991. But that prize, paid out over several years, was split 10 ways.
Officials said 138 million Powerball tickets were sold for Wednesday night’s drawing in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Illinois does not belong to the multistate lottery that runs the Powerball game.
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Earlier this week, Capaci said, a waitress at Bill’s on Bartlett announced that she planned to travel to Wisconsin to buy Powerball tickets for friends. Capaci said he gave her $5 and asked her to buy five for his family.
The waitress drove to Lake Geneva, Wis. But after encountering only long lines of Powerball patrons, she drove over to sleepy Pell Lake, where no one was waiting at the Lakeside Grocery & Deli. Lottery officials said the winning ticket was bought at 1:38 p.m. Wednesday.
By Thursday morning, the national media descended on Pell Lake, a middle-class town of 1,200 residents just across the Illinois state line. Nearly 60 reporters and at least 10 camera crews camped outside the store for most of the morning.
Bloomfield Township Police Officer Wilbur Kennedy had to knock on the store’s door at 4 a.m. Thursday to wake the owners, who live in a rear apartment.
“It’s incredible. There are places with huge long lines, and we’re just a little store,” said Pat Penio, one of the owners.
Later Thursday morning, Capaci walked into Bill’s on Bartlett unaware. A group of patrons handed him a sealed envelope containing his tickets. The odds of picking all six numbers were 80 million to 1, so Capaci said he opened the envelope with little hope.
“It was one of those unbelievable moments when you realize you are part of something that’s going to be talked about for weeks, if not years,” said Ed Hodgin, a friend of the couple who witnessed Capaci reading off the winning numbers.
Capaci, a quiet man, said he grew up with a strong work ethic, so winning the lottery was a little disconcerting. He spent most of his career working as an electrician and was among the laborers who helped build O’Hare International Airport. Since retiring, he has mowed lawns at a Hoffman Estates golf course to stay active. He said he doesn’t plan on quitting.
Sitting at a table with his sons, Brian, Anthony and Frank Jr., Capaci turned to his daughter-in-law, who is pregnant with his fifth grandchild, and said: “The only reason I played the lottery was to give you kids a lift in life.”
Shirley Capaci said she and her husband plan to share the money with their children. But she added that the couple also plan to give a portion to Patty Rooney, the waitress who bought the tickets.
The family has lived modestly in a four-bedroom ranch house in Streamwood, and Capaci doesn’t think that will change. His first purchase will probably be a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, he said.
“I don’t dream of $50 million homes,” he said. “I try to do the best in my life and everyone else’s. So maybe God has been good to me.”