The father-in-law of a former NFL player has ties to the winning Powerball ticket. According to TMZ Sports, Joe Chahayed, the father-in-law of former Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman Domata Peko Sr., is the owner of Joe’s Service Center gas station in Altadena, California, and he announced he sold the winning ticket that earned $2 billion in winnings. This led to Chahayed winning $1 million and was seen him holding up an oversized check.ย
“My Father In-Law Sold the winning PowerBall [ticket] 2 billion $, Congratulations Baba,” Peko said in a post on Instagram on Tuesday, per ESPN. The drawing for Powerball was scheduled to take place on Sunday night but was delayed until Monday morning.ย
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On Sunday night, the California Lottery went to Twitter and said: “Tonight’s Powerball drawing has been delayed due to a participating lottery needing extra time to complete the required security protocols. Powerball has strict security requirements that must be met by all 48 lotteries before a drawing can occur.” The organization added: “When the required security protocols are complete, the drawing will be performed under the supervision of lottery security officials and independent auditors. Winning numbers will be posted as soon as they are available. Thank you for your patience.”
Peko, 37, played in the NFL from 2006-2020 and spent the majority of his career with the Bengals (2006-2016). He was selected by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played in 171 games for the Bengals and recorded 517 tackles and 18.5 sacks.ย
In 2017, Peko signed a two-year contract with the Denver Broncos and played 30 games. In 2019, Peko signed with the Baltimore Ravens and played in seven games. He finished his career with the Arizona Cardinals in 2020 and played a total of 214 games in 15 seasons. Earlier this year Peko spoke to CBS Sports HQ and said he plans to officially retire soon.ย
“Everyone asks ‘ are you retired?’” he joked, per Cincinnati Inquirer. “No one called me yet so I guess I am going to retire.” Peko went on to tease a return to the NFL by saying, “I’m still waiting (for a call). Hopefully, the Bengals will give me a call today.”
