An Unemployed Claimes Quarter of $294.8M Lottery Prize in U.S.A divorced father whose unemployment benefits were about to run out claimed a quarter of the $294.8 million Powerball jackpot Monday, calling it a ''poor man's dream.''''A lot of people work hard and a lot of people are out of work,'' David Edwards said at Kentucky Lottery headquarters. ''And you dream you want a better life, and playing this lottery has done that for me.'' In Minnesota, someone claiming to have the winning ticket contacted lottery officials. New Hampshire officials said they have been contacted by a representative of a ticket holder. The fourth winning ticket was sold in Delaware. Edwards, 46, said one of the eight tickets he bought about 1.5 hours before Saturday night's drawing was one of four that matched the Powerball drawing. He validated his ticket on the machine at Clark's Pump N Shop where he bought it and claimed his winnings in a lump sum ¡ª some $41 million ¡ª rather than a 25-year annuity. The winning numbers drawn Saturday night in Des Moines, Iowa, were 8, 17, 22, 42 and 47, plus the Powerball number of 21. Each winning Powerball ticket is worth $73.7 million, or $2.9 million per year for 25 years. Ticket-holders also have the option of a lump-sum cash payment of $41.4 million, before taxes. The odds of winning the Powerball are one in 80 million. The richest lottery prize in U.S. history was $363 million in the Big Game jackpot, won last year by two players in Illinois and Michigan. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |