Will 20 Tennessee Co-Workers Stay At Work After Sharing $421 Million Powerball Jackpot?
/
Members of the 'Tennessee 20' Powerball jackpot group with Rebecca Hargrove (center), President and CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery.
The factory boss asked his staff - 20 new multi-millionaire Powerball winners - if they would be quitting straight away.
The group, named the Tennessee 20 by lottery syndicate leader Amy O'neal's son, work together at the North American Stamping Group in Portland.
They play the lottery twice a week, buying at least 60 tickets and usually rolling any of their winnings into the next drawing.
But after the November 26 Powerball draw gave them $12.7 million each, their lives changed forever.
CELEBRATION: 20 Tennessee co-workers are filmed receiving their checks at the Tennessee Lottery headquarters.
One of the group said at a press conference at Tennessee Lottery headquarters that the company's president asked if all 20 would be quitting immediately.
While some of the employees intend taking early retirement, all promised their boss they would stay on long enough to train replacements.
The North American Stamping Group buildings in Portland where the 20 winners work.
Leader Amy O'neal said the winnings would help at least 500 people in the group's circle of family and friends.
She said they were looking into donating to people affected and displaced by wildfires ravaging the town of Gatlinburg and other communities in the eastern part of the state.
The winning Powerball tickets were bought from this Smoke Shop in Lafayette.
Amy called the Smoke Shop a "hometown business" that she visited often and where everyone treated each other like family.
Joyce Gregory (left), owner of the Smoke Shop, received $25,000 for selling the winning ticket.
Powerball lottery syndicate leader Amy O'neal at the Tennessee Lottery press conference.
"I am really tickled," Gregory said today. "It's really going to help our town."
O'neal said that her son woke her up early Sunday morning to tell her the winning ticket was bought in Lafayette. After checking the numbers at least three times, she started calling her co-workers around 5am.
They thought she was pranking them when she said they all needed to head over to her house. It took one co-worker four hours to get there because his car wouldn't start.
One of the 'Tennessee 20' winners, Billy Taylor, talks about his win at the conference.
She said her winnings would help her daughter, who's a teacher and often has to take lunch for children whose families don't have the means to buy or provide meals at school.
Everyone in the group was present when the ticket was scanned Monday. Steve Huffman said that while driving Monday, his check-engine light lit up. He added that for the first time, it did not worry him.
Rebecca Hargrove, President and CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery. Photo:Mark Humphrey, AP.
"What a great day for Tennessee!" said Rebecca Hargrove, President and CEO of the Tennessee Education Lottery. "We couldn't be happier for this wonderful group of friends. The excitement from winning experiences like these is a key part of our success raising funds for education programs in Tennessee."
One of the winners, Don Sword, said he and his wife plan to build a legacy for their family with the money. "It's a gift that we definitely want to use the right way," he told ABC affiliate WKRN-TV.
According to the Tennessee Lottery, it was the sixth Powerball jackpot won in the state and the 200th ticket sold by the Tennessee Lottery that was worth $1 million or more.
