Take this job and shove it?
Meat Plant Workers Win $365M Powerball Jackpot
Jackpot Is Largest In U.S. History
POSTED: 6:17 am CST February 22, 2006
UPDATED: 10:59 am CST February 22, 2006
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LINCOLN, Neb. -- The question of who won the record $365 million Powerball jackpot last weekend was answered Wednesday morning.
The jackpot has been claimed by a group of eight workers from a meat processing plant.
They all work at a ConAgra ham processing plant near a U Stop convenience store where they bought the winning ticket.
Three of the workers actually went to work Tuesday night and got off at 6:30 a.m. before the 10:30 a.m. jackpot news conference.
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The eight workers' names: 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 winning ticket for the biggest jackpot on record for any lottery in the United States was sold in Lincoln.
The winners chose a lump sum cash option, giving them more than $177 million collectively, or $15.5 million each after taxes.
The ticket holders could have taken the money in a lump sum or in installments over 30 years.
Lottery officials said winners often seek financial advice before coming forward. They also noted that winners usually don't go on major spending sprees right away.
The previous U.S. lottery jackpot record was $363 million for the Big Game, the forerunner of Mega Millions. 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.
The winning numbers drawn Saturday were 15, 17, 43, 44 and 48, and Powerball 29.
Second Prize
Seventeen co-workers from Intel Corp. in Rio Rancho, N.M., have come forward to claim the second prize from Saturday's record Powerball drawing.
The 17 are dividing a prize worth $667,142.
The normal Powerball second prize is $200,000 for matching five white balls but missing the red Powerball. When Powerball jackpots set records -- such as Saturday's $365 million prize -- a separate prize pool grows for second-prize winners.
In all, there were 42 second-prize winners across the country.
Each of the 17 workers put $5 in the office pool and received $39,243. After federal and state withholding taxes, each will take home $27,078.
Previous Stories:
* February 21, 2006: Powerball Winner Steps Forward
* February 19, 2006: Winning Powerball Ticket Sold In Nebraska
* February 16, 2006: Soaring Powerball Jackpot Is Biggest In History
* February 12, 2006: Powerball Jackpot Reaches $300M
* February 9, 2006: No Big Winners Again: Powerball Jackpot Soars
* February 6, 2006: Powerball Jackpot Swells To $210M
* February 2, 2006: No Powerball Winner, Jackpot Goes To $180M
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