By Racine Guajardo

Eastvale– The holders of the winning Powerball ticket bought at a Chino Hills 7-11 have finally come forward!

Marvin and Mae Acosta, residents of Eastvale, have been announced as the third winners of the $1.6 billion Powerball lottery jackpot.

The original drawing was on January 13, and three tickets shared the jackpot. The other two have already claimed their money, one from Florida and one from Tennessee, but the third winner never came forward. Finally after 6 months of remaining a mystery, the Acosta’s came forward with their ticket before the 180 days of the draw date. Just like the other two winners, they opted for a one-time payment of $327.8 million before federal taxes.

The 7-Eleven store who sold the winning ticket is located at 492 Chino Hills Parkway and the store owner received $1 million.

California Lottery Director, Hugo Lopez, released a statement saying, “We finally know who our mystery winners are! It may have taken six months for them to come to one of our offices, but these winners did just what we tell all our winner to do- they read our Winner’s Handbook and then assembled a team of legal and financial advisers to help them make the most of this windfall and prepare them for their new life as lottery winners.”

The Acosta’s want to remain private as possible but have released the following statement, “We are thankful and blessed for the rare gift that has been placed in our care. We have engaged a team of advisers to educate and guide us through this process so that we can be good stewards of these new resources. While many decisions are still to be made, we have committed nearly all of this new resource to a Trust and to charities that are important to us. While we are very grateful for the wonderful wishes and encouragement we’ve received, it is not our intention to become public figures, and we ask for and appreciate privacy going forward. Thank you.”

A neighbor of the couple reported to ABC7 that the Acosta’s left last Friday without a word of where they were going or of their lottery winnings, but that is not confirmed.

Another neighbor, Emily Waithira, reported to Eastvale News that various news teams were outside the couple’s home on the morning of July 19. “[They’re] flooding our neighborhood!” said Emily. However, it is not confirmed if the Acosta’s were at the residence when the news teams were there. But Emily did say, “I am so happy for them!”

This article will be updated as more information is released.