\n Posted on: October 17, 2025, 03:19h.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Last updated on: October 17, 2025, 03:19h.\n <\/p>\n
![\"Avatar](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-50x50.png\")
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- Lottery billionaire pledges to rebuild fire-ravaged Altadena community<\/strong><\/li>\n
- UCLA study reveals severe racial impact of Eaton Fire<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Local reactions mixed as Castro buys scorched neighborhood lots<\/strong>
\nPowerball\u2019s $2 billion winner Edwin Castro<\/a> has pledged to rebuild his hometown of Altadena in Los Angeles County, Calif., much of which was destroyed by wildfire in January.<\/p>\n
![\"Powerball,](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Castro-858x546.jpg\")
Edwin Castro, above, gave his first interview since his 2 billion lottery win to the WSJ as he pledged to restore properties in his hometown, Altadena, Calif. (Image: Fontoura)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The world\u2019s richest lottery winner is one of the biggest buyers of scorched lots in the town, which are being purchased by investors from residents who have chosen to sell up rather than rebuild.<\/p>\n
Castro bought his winning lottery ticket in 2022 for $10 from a gas station, Joe\u2019s Service Center, on the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Woodbury Road in Altadena. The fire burned more than 100 homes in Fair Oaks Avenue but spared Joe\u2019s, prompting The New York Times<\/em> to describe it as \u201cthe luckiest gas station in America.\u201d<\/p>\n
Devastating Fire<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Many others were not lucky. The Eaton fire broke out on the evening of January 7, 2025, in Eaton Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains. Fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds, it swept down into the foothill communities, hitting Altadena especially hard.<\/p>\n
Some 48% of Black households and around 37% of non-Black households were destroyed, according to a UCLA study. That suggests that around 39% of all households were wiped out \u2013 devastating for a community of around 43K people.<\/p>\n
In total, 31 people died in the numerous California wildfires of January 2025, at least two in Altadena.<\/p>\n
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I want it to feel like the old neighborhood,\u201d Castro told The Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a> in his first words to the media since his gargantuan windfall. \u201cLike if you put all those houses pre-fire in a time bubble.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Castro is looking to build homes for families who want to settle in Altadena, rather than those wanting to rent them out. But he emphasized that he was also looking to make a few bucks from the venture.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe profit margin doesn\u2019t have to be egregious. But I\u2019m not building these homes just to give them away,\u201d he told WSJ<\/em>, adding that they might take ten years to build.<\/p>\n
Man of Mystery<\/strong><\/h2>\n
- UCLA study reveals severe racial impact of Eaton Fire<\/strong><\/li>\n