------------ Powerball winner plans to share jackpot By Debbie Howlett, USA TODAY CHARLESTON, W.Va — It would be hard to imagine a lottery winner with more heart than Andrew "Jack" Whittaker Jr., 55, a construction company owner from Scott Depot, W.Va. Whittaker stepped forward Thursday to claim the $314.9 million Powerball prize — the largest jackpot ever won by a single ticket-holder. He plans to give 10% to three Church of God pastors. Then he wants to put money into his construction firms to put his 25 laid-off employees back to work. Finally, he plans to let his daughter and granddaughter spend what they can. "I'm not going to change my life much," said Whittaker, dressed in black and a signature black hat. "I can take this money and make a lot of lives happier." He chose to take his winnings as a single payment of $170.5 million. After paying 33.5% for federal and state taxes, he'll receive $111.6 million. His other choice was to receive 30 annual payments of $10.5 million, which would come to $6.9 million after taxes. "I'm content with my life," he said. "Every morning I wake up I feel like I won the lottery." Whittaker went to bed Christmas night after the televised drawing thinking he had missed the jackpot by one number. Winning the Powerball top prize requires correctly picking five of 53 numbers as well as the correct Powerball number, from 1 to 42. The odds of picking all six correctly: 1 in 120 million. He saw Thursday morning that the winning ticket was purchased at the store where he bought his. He told his wife, Jewell, about the coincidence. He double-checked his numbers. "Sure enough," he said, "we had the winner." First he called his lawyer, and then he called his family. Whittaker drove to the C&L Super Serve, where he had bought the ticket, in Hurricane, 25 miles west of Charleston, W.Va. He bought biscuits and fueled up his Lincoln Navigator, as he does every day. He went up to the same cashier who sold him the winning ticket on Monday and tipped her $100. She asked if he won, and he said yes. "She said, 'No you didn't! You're not excited enough,' " Whittaker said. Seven hours later, Whittaker claimed his prize in Charleston. ----------- Q: What would you do with 100+ million dollars? -----------
He's a dark cowboy. He doesn't deserve this money. It makes you wonder if the state of Utah will finally join Power Ball. Utah is all about 10%... and that's a lot of money.
