Man Claims Share of Record Lotto Jackpot

One of three winners in last week’s record-setting $193-million California lottery came forward Tuesday to claim his share of the largest single-state jackpot in U.S. history.

Andy Kampe, a self-employed engineer who bought his ticket at a Northern California supermarket, said he planned to quit his job and buy a “pretty hot car” with part of his $64.3 million in winnings.

The other two winners, who purchased tickets in Orange and Montebello, had yet to come forward as of Tuesday night.

Kampe, 57, owner of Kampe Construction in Half Moon Bay, overcame the one-in-41-million odds by picking all six numbers in Saturday’s SuperLotto Plus drawing.

At a news conference in San Francisco, he received an oversized check for the $64.3 million he will get before taxes over the next 26 years. Kampe elected to take the money in annual payments, with the first check, for $1.6 million, expected to arrive in two to six weeks.

He had purchased 20 Quick Pick tickets at an Albertson’s supermarket in Half Moon Bay for Saturday’s drawing.

Kampe said Tuesday that he and his family--his wife, Diane, quit her job as a nurse at Coastside Medical Clinic--may “go hide” for about a month to figure out what to do with the money. He has two daughters, Amanda Valerino, 27, who lives in Nevada, and Ana Kampe, 26, who lives in Oregon.

Kampe said he is planning to fire himself from his job, travel and possibly make some big purchases. “I’ll probably get myself a pretty hot car,” he said. “I’ve got a truck now.”

Meanwhile, Margie Bennett, the franchise owner of the Montebello 7-Eleven store where one of the winning tickets was sold, said she only hopes that one of the winners is a regular customer.

For selling the winning ticket, she gets to split $321,666, or one half of 1% of the jackpot, with 7-Eleven Corp.

Bennett said the days leading up to Saturday’s drawing were hectic for her and her employees. As a reward for their hard work, she said, “I’ll give a little bit to some of my employees, help them with schools. Otherwise, I have no idea.”

In Orange, the manager of the 7-Eleven store where the third winning ticket was sold said he returned from a trip to Las Vegas to learn he had won a tidy sum without having gambled a dime.

Harry Bisla, 61, of Orange said he hasn’t decided how he will spend his share of the $321,666 he must split with 7-Eleven Corp.