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Posted on 12/26/2002 12:53:41 PM PST by Salvation
Record high
West Virginia contractor wins largest single lottery jackpot
Thursday December 26, 2002
By Gavin McCormick
The Associated Press
A 55-year-old West Virginia water and sewer contractor has won the $314.9 million Powerball jackpot, the largest single lottery jackpot in history.
Andrew Jackson Whittaker Jr. received a $10 million advance check from Gov. Bob Wise Thursday at a news conference. The balance of Whittaker's $314.9 million won't be presented for another two weeks.
Whittaker said he originally thought he had lost the jackpot because the numbers came up wrong on the televised drawing Christmas night. It wasn't until Thursday morning that he realized he won the jackpot.
The winning numbers were 5-14-16-29-53 and the Powerball was 7.
"The very first thing I'm going to do is go home and make out three checks to three pastors,” said Whittaker, who was dressed in all black and was wearing a black cowboy hat.
"I've been blessed my entire life,” he said.
Whittaker is the president of three construction companies. He said he has about 25 employees laid off now because of the weather.
”Every morning I wake up I feel like I've won the lottery,” Whittaker said.
He decided to take the cash option, which entitles him to a one-time payment of $170 million, or $111,681.349 after taxes.
"I've had to work for everything in my life. This is the first thing that's ever been given to me,” he said, who is originally from Jumping Branch, Summers County.
He and his wife, Jewell, plan to travel to New York City Thursday night.
After learning he had won the lottery, he went back to C&L Super Serve, the store where he spent $100 purchasing Powerball tickets on Monday. When he returned to the store he gave one of the employees a $100 tip.
The store's owner, Larry Trogdon, received a $100,000 check for selling the winning ticket.
And the libs say the rich are selfish. Jesse Jackson and Robert Byrd are probably ticked off because he isn't giving $34 million to the state government so it can be wasted on social programs.
Illegal pools and lotteries are still conducted in every poor neighborhood in the USA. It is foolish of poor people to spend excessive amounts of money on these games, but then I also think it is foolish of them to buy fast food, designer label clothes, soda pop and beer, or any one of a hundred other ways that people waste money.
It is THEIR money to waste. The governments of participating states have decided to allow lotteries, and I dare say that most voters approve of the lotteries.
I saw this guy's press conference, and he was an outstanding example of someone who has made a good life. Couldn't we just be happy for him, and for the people of West Virginia whom he will help?
Perhaps we should give our young people a clue on what to expect in life by conferring SAT scores based on a lottery rather than upon merit.
Good points. The people betting were mostly likely betting with dollars that have been already taxed and the winners are taxed again? What a ripoff.
The lottery is a suckers bet. No question about that. But in this case the winner is giving a chunk of change to charity. Real charities. And that's the best part about the story. Good for him! I'd bet you that he has given money to people that needed it before. The Lord likes that. I believe that with all my heart. He has proven it to me many times.
1. I never bought a lottery ticket.
2. But I do have a persistent daydream that one day a winning ticket will fall from the sky and land at my feet.
3. Then I have a vision of me at the press conference giving the finger to the cameras and announcing, "Suckers".
4. Of course, I wouldn't really do that--I'd just pocket the money and mutter "Suckers" under my breath.
On CBS radio his name is Andrew Jack. LOL! CBS could not say "Andrew Jackson" because it is not apparently PC enough.
I have a friend who sometimes buys lottery tickets for the Sat. night drawings when he's having a party. He gives them as party favors. It's fun to track (and it's a cue for when the party ends). Occasionally someone will win a small amount, but someone could always win big.
Both my mom and granny are English teachers, and extremely good ones at that. So good that they managed to teach me to read and write when everyone else had given up on me (using the common excuse of 'attention deficit disorder' and such hock) ...even in Africa that stuff is rearing its nefarious head! Anyways through their hardwork and diligence (and loads of faith) by 4th grade i could not only read and write .....but was reading and writing well above my grade level (and by 6th grade i was writing books and poems).
Now i am technically considered a genius (IQ 161) and in school i have a 4.0 gpa in finance.
And it all started with 2 English teachers who had more faith in me than the rest of the world combined.
Thus if you are an English teacher i give you maximum respect, and may you be deeply blessed in all you do. Buy a ticket next time.
Cheers.
Anthony.
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