Powerball Winners
Powerball Winners
I love playing the lottery, well, when I can afford a few extra dollars. Like everyone else, I have had long conversations with my family about "What we will do when we win the lottery". Paying off the house, a nice vacation, college money and all the other things that come with a windfall like winning Powerball.
Powerball is the largest, nearly national lottery in the United States. Several times, the jackpot has passed the $300 million dollar mark making winners instant millionaires for life.
I had heard horror stories about people who had won the lottery and wanted to find out if these stories were all true. So I took some time to research some of the past winners, how much they won and what happened to them next. Here are a few of their stories.
Remember, nobody wins a lottery unless they play! So don't complain about not winning unless you buy a ticket!
Powerball Winners
Real stories of real powerball winners!
Chris Shaw - Missouri - April 21, 2010
Jackpot - $258.5M
Shaw, a former truck driver, worked at a convinience store when he purchased $5 worth of Powerball tickets for the largest jackpot in Missouri Lottery history. He had a feeling "someone was going to win this one" so he took the chance which paid off.
Shaw opted for the cash value option over the annuity prize. The cash prize was $124,875,122.48 before taxes.
Shaw was not sure what he was going to do with the windfall other than take care of some debts and take family and friends to Disney World.
Powerball Winners Stories!
Frank Griffinl - North Carolina - February 2010
$141,400,000.00
Griffin, a retired firefighter had $5 in change leftover at the convience store and decided to splurge on some lottery tickets. Namely, the Powerball jackpot. Griffin hit all the numbers and won the jackpot but chose the cash value option with a winning prize of $69 million.
Griffin plans to travel and play more golf with his new found wealth.
Powerball Winner Stories
Rob Anderson - Kentucky - December 26 2009
$128,600,000.00
A mistake by a store clerk left Rob Anderson a multi millionaire. Getting some last minute Christmas gifts, Anderson asked for 3 quick pick lottery tickets for stocking stuffers. When the clerk put all three sets of numbers on one ticket, Anderson had to get three more as the numbers were for separate people.
The day after Christmas, Rob was in for a surprise as he held one set of the winning numbers. What a great gift!
Anderson went to lottery headquarters in Kentucky with wife and other family members to claim his ticket. At the time, he had not decided whether or not to take the cash annuity of $128,600,000.00 or go for the lump sum of $63,456,864.77 cash before taxes.
Powerball Winners Stories!
Don't think you could win the Powerball Lottery? Read about real people and real winners who have won the big jackpot!
Donald Damon - Kansas - November 11 2009
$96,600,000.00
Damon, 70, a lifelong resident of South Bend, Kansas, purchased a single Quick Pick ticket but had no idea what the jackpot was when he discovered he had the winning numbers. After arriving at lottery headquarters he nearly fell over to find out he had won nearly 100 million dollars.
Damon chose the cash value option which after taxes, was $33,857,130.35. A big difference from the $96,000,000.00 jackpot, but still the prize of a lifetime.
Damon plans on making donations to area churches and taking his grandson to Las Vegas for his 21st birthday.
Normal people are winning the Powerball Lottery all the time. Why not you?
Powerball Winners Stories
How about another Powerball Winner Story?
Doug Miron of Wisconsin took home a $31.5M Powerball win by playing the same numbers for years - 5, 10, 25, 30 and 40. He used the Powerball 6 because a pscychic allegedly told him this was his "cornerstone" number.
It paid off for Miron. 31.5 million dollars, cash option of 16.7 million dollars and after taxes, $11.2M. Not bad for a couple of lottery tickets!
Powerball Winners Stories
Always nice to hear more happy Powerball winners stories. How about Neal Wanless?
July 27th, 2009, Neal stepped forward and claimed his big prize - 232 million dollars!
Choosing the cash value option, Wanless took home 118,000,000.00. Not bad for a lottery ticket. The rancher used family birthdays for his winning numbers when he purchased his $5 worth of tickets when buying feed in nearby Winner, South Dakota.
So far, no big puchases have been made yet, but the 23 year old said he wouldn't mind having a larger ranch to work someday.
