Where in the world is Menifee? Well, now they all know

Brothers Fadi (left) and Matthew Alberre stand in front of a poster announcing the sale of a $447 million winning Powerball lottery ticket at their family-owned Marietta Liquor on Bradley Road in the Sun City community in Menifee. Menifee 24/7 photos: Doug Spoon

Folks who live in this part of Menifee know all about Marietta Liquor on Bradley Road, across the street from Coco's restaurant and just down the street from McCall Boulevard in the Sun City community. Yet even as much as the city has grown in recent years, few outside the Inland Empire are very familiar with the city of Menifee, let alone Marietta Liquor.

But as a media blitz descended on this little store on Sunday, a whole lot more people around the country looked up Menifee on the map. And for the regulars who purchase lottery tickets there, it was all about congratulating the owners -- and buying more tickets.

California lottery officials announced Saturday night that the lone winning ticket in that night's Powerball game -- worth $447 million -- was purchased at Marrieta Liquor. The winner has not yet come forward and has one year to do so. Yet on Sunday, it seemed that every one of the regulars who play lottery games there showed up to congratulate the store owners and try their luck again.

James Santos, who has lived in Menifee 16 years, said he didn't play Powerball this week but plays a variety of lotto games on a regular basis. Waiting his turn to buy tickets on Sunday, Santos said he won $18,000 with a Mega lotto ticket bought at the store in 2014.

"I was one number away from the winning numbers, which was worth $108 million," he said. "But I was happy. I bought Facebook stock with it. That tripled up on me -- went from $40 a share to $150."

In a span of about an hour Sunday afternoon, a steady stream of regulars came in, joking about being the winner and swapping stories about whether they would go public with such winnings so soon.

"I would've been here today, claiming it," said Menifee resident Marty Ramirez with a smile. "I heard this morning on the news, but I was coming down here anyway to get my normal tickets. I'm glad somebody here won and I hope they put it to good use."

For the record, the winning numbers were 20-26-32-38-58, with the Powerball number of 3. The odds of winning the jackpot were estimated to be one in 292.2 million.

Matthew Alberre, whose family has owned the business for 26 years, said there has been no word from the winner. They don't even know if the winning ticket was made with individually selected numbers or by quick pick on the lottery machine.
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"It's very exciting to be a part of this," he said. "It's been phone call after phone call today, text after text, people coming in, lottery officials, news reporters ... it's been a pretty busy day. We're just trying to get the details on who won."

The winner could officially come forward to lottery officials to claim the prize as early as Monday morning but would by rule have a year to do so. If taken over 29 years, the winner would eventually receive $447 million. If taken as one lump sum, the payout would be $279 million.

In addition, the owners of Marrieta Liquor will receive an estimated $1 million -- and it isn't the first time they have sold a huge winning ticket. According to Alberre, this is the third time Marrieta Liquor has sold a ticket worth more than $1 million -- but the first in 21 years.

And yes, the tickets were purchased in Menifee. Don't confuse the name of the business "Marietta Liquor" with the neighboring city of a similar name. Alberre said that was the name of the business when his family bought it 26 years ago, and they just never changed it.

Considering their streak of good luck, why change now?

Balloons in front the store indicated the celebration within, where customers were frequent on Sunday.

Owners and employees of Marietta Liquor watch as a lottery official confirms the winning ticket was bought at their counter.

Menifee resident Marty Ramirez fills out his lottery card Sunday in hopes of being the next big winner.

A giant "check" on display in the store indicates the big payout awaiting one lucky customer.