Amazingly, his ticket numbers were an exact match for the jackpot winning numbers on Saturday’s Powerball draw, for the top prize of $344.6 million. Jackson didn’t even check his ticket until the following Tuesday, and even then he misread the numbers in his excitement and didn’t know he had won the jackpot.
Jackson explained: “I didn’t see it all at first. I thought I had only matched four of the five white balls. I thought that meant I had only won $50,000. I called my wife and told her, ‘I won something!’” He continued: “You play to win, but you never really expect to win the whole dang pot. I decided to check again. I saw the last number and thought, ‘I’ve won the whole thing!’ I didn’t know how much I had won until I googled it. I couldn’t believe it! I still can’t believe it. I’m numb.”
Jackson formerly owned a military surplus store in Fort Bragg and opted for the full cash option instead of the annuity. This means that after taxes he will take home an incredible $158 million. When asked what he planned to do with the winnings he said that he would settle a deal with his brother, in which if either brother won a major prize they would gift the other brother one million dollars.
Other than that, he said he will donate money to a war veteran’s charity, a couple of children’s hospitals and take his wife on a trip to Vietnam. For the rest of his lifestyle, he said: “It probably won’t change much, I mean, let me put it this way, I will still wear jeans. But, I will probably buy some new ones.”
Global Lotteries
The Powerball jackpot on Sunday is a very generous $53 million, while the Mega Millions lottery powers ahead to a lofty $530 million. This week’s EuroMillions is definitely worth a go as it is a special edition draw with a guaranteed win of at least €130 million. In the UK, the Lotto this Saturday has a jackpot of a cool £3.8 million.