Winners of $365 million Powerball step forward
Posted: Thursday, February 23, 2006
Winners of a $365 million Powerball jackpot hold their mock checks Wednesday. (AP Photo)
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- A group of eight workers at a local meat processing plant came forward Wednesday to claim the record $365 million Powerball jackpot.
They all work at a ConAgra ham processing plant near the U-Stop convenience store where they bought the winning ticket.
"I've been able to sleep -- I just can't eat," said Mike Terpstra, who works as a supervisor at the plant.
It was the biggest jackpot on record for any lottery in the United States.
The winning numbers drawn Saturday were 15, 17, 43, 44 and 48, with a Powerball number of 29, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association of Des Moines, Iowa, which runs the game for the participating states.
They had the option of taking the money in one lump sum or installments over 30 years.
They chose the cash option.
The cash option gives them $177.3 million, or $124.1 million after taxes. On the installment plan, the first payment would be $6,507,986 after taxes.
The pretax haul on the cash option for the group of eight would be $22,162,500. After taxes, it amounts to $15.5 million each.
The eight winners are: Quang Dao, 56; David Gehle, 53; Alain Maboussou, 26; Chasity Rutjens, 29; Robert Stewart, 30; Michael Terpstra, 47; Dung Tran, 34; and Eric Zornes, 40.
The group said they and other workers at the plant often pooled their money together over the past several years when the jackpots reached $40 million or so.
Maboussou said he did not think others at the plant who did not chip in to buy tickets for Saturday's drawing harbor any ill will toward the winners.
"I don't think they have a reason to be jealous," he said, "because when it's a pool day, we ask people to put like in five bucks, so if you wasn't there or you didn't put five bucks in, sorry."
Only three of the group quit their jobs when they hit the jackpot.
"I've been retired for about four days now," said Zornes.
Dao and Tran are both refugees from Vietnam. Tran has been in the United States for 16 years and has worked at the plant for 15 of them. Dao has been in the United States since 1988.
The Cornhusker hotel ballroom, where the announcement of the winners was made Wednesday, was jammed with about 200 people, including dozens of media members from Nebraska and around the nation. A phalanx of satellite news trucks surrounded the hotel.
Stewart, a maintenance supervisor, looked out on the media multitude and said of the days leading up to the announcement: "We've been on the run from all of you."
"I didn't know what to think," said Stewart. "I still don't know what to think."
Terpstra, who is not married and has no children, said he was unsure what to do with the money.
"Everybody has dreams," he said. "Buy an island. Buy an airplane. In reality, I'm not a fan of flying and don't really like water."
Alain Maboussou, 26, said he fled the Congo in 1999 to escape unrest after the civil war there. He said he plans to quit work and return to school for a degree in business administration. He said his newfound wealth will provide for his wife and 3-month-old daughter.
"She's going to be happy for the rest of her life," he said of the girl.
At one point during the news conference, Mick Mandl, owner of the convenience store where the winning ticket was sold, asked the group: "Do any of you want to buy a convenience store?"
Dao, who spoke in broken English, said he still has family in Vietnam and plans to help them financially.
"Yeah, they very happy," he said, adding that he plans to keep living in the United States.
"This is great country!" he said.
The previous U.S. lottery jackpot record was $363 million for the Big Game, the forerunner of Mega Millions. That was won by two ticketholders, in Illinois and Michigan in 2000.
Powerball's previous record jackpot, $340 million, was won by an Oregon family in October.
Powerball is played in 28 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
They all work at a ConAgra ham processing plant near the U-Stop convenience store where they bought the winning ticket.
"I've been able to sleep -- I just can't eat," said Mike Terpstra, who works as a supervisor at the plant.
It was the biggest jackpot on record for any lottery in the United States.
The winning numbers drawn Saturday were 15, 17, 43, 44 and 48, with a Powerball number of 29, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association of Des Moines, Iowa, which runs the game for the participating states.
They had the option of taking the money in one lump sum or installments over 30 years.
They chose the cash option.
The cash option gives them $177.3 million, or $124.1 million after taxes. On the installment plan, the first payment would be $6,507,986 after taxes.
The pretax haul on the cash option for the group of eight would be $22,162,500. After taxes, it amounts to $15.5 million each.
The eight winners are: Quang Dao, 56; David Gehle, 53; Alain Maboussou, 26; Chasity Rutjens, 29; Robert Stewart, 30; Michael Terpstra, 47; Dung Tran, 34; and Eric Zornes, 40.
The group said they and other workers at the plant often pooled their money together over the past several years when the jackpots reached $40 million or so.
Maboussou said he did not think others at the plant who did not chip in to buy tickets for Saturday's drawing harbor any ill will toward the winners.
"I don't think they have a reason to be jealous," he said, "because when it's a pool day, we ask people to put like in five bucks, so if you wasn't there or you didn't put five bucks in, sorry."
Only three of the group quit their jobs when they hit the jackpot.
"I've been retired for about four days now," said Zornes.
Dao and Tran are both refugees from Vietnam. Tran has been in the United States for 16 years and has worked at the plant for 15 of them. Dao has been in the United States since 1988.
The Cornhusker hotel ballroom, where the announcement of the winners was made Wednesday, was jammed with about 200 people, including dozens of media members from Nebraska and around the nation. A phalanx of satellite news trucks surrounded the hotel.
Stewart, a maintenance supervisor, looked out on the media multitude and said of the days leading up to the announcement: "We've been on the run from all of you."
"I didn't know what to think," said Stewart. "I still don't know what to think."
Terpstra, who is not married and has no children, said he was unsure what to do with the money.
"Everybody has dreams," he said. "Buy an island. Buy an airplane. In reality, I'm not a fan of flying and don't really like water."
Alain Maboussou, 26, said he fled the Congo in 1999 to escape unrest after the civil war there. He said he plans to quit work and return to school for a degree in business administration. He said his newfound wealth will provide for his wife and 3-month-old daughter.
"She's going to be happy for the rest of her life," he said of the girl.
At one point during the news conference, Mick Mandl, owner of the convenience store where the winning ticket was sold, asked the group: "Do any of you want to buy a convenience store?"
Dao, who spoke in broken English, said he still has family in Vietnam and plans to help them financially.
"Yeah, they very happy," he said, adding that he plans to keep living in the United States.
"This is great country!" he said.
The previous U.S. lottery jackpot record was $363 million for the Big Game, the forerunner of Mega Millions. That was won by two ticketholders, in Illinois and Michigan in 2000.
Powerball's previous record jackpot, $340 million, was won by an Oregon family in October.
Powerball is played in 28 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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