Costco Co-Workers Split $50M Powerball Win
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William Thomas Cain/Getty Images(WALTHAM, Mass.) — The Massachusetts Lottery confirmed two Costco co-workers are the winners of a $50 million Powerball prize.
According to lottery officials, 52-year-old Rosa DeLeon and 54-year-old Reginald LeBlanc, who work at the Costco in Waltham, Mass., bought the winning ticket to Wednesday’s jackpot.
The Boston Globe reports that over the past 10 months, DeLeon would regularly buy two Powerball tickets, write their names on the back, and give LeBlanc a copy.
On Thursday, her weekly purchases paid off.
The two appeared at a news conference at state lottery headquarters to accept a $33 million lump-sum payment, which comes to $23.1 million after taxes.
The winning ticket, sold at a Shell gas station in Lexington, Mass., had the numbers 8-10-25-36-44, and a Powerball of 28.
“About a year ago we sold a $1 million ticket. Not a $50 million, but still pretty good,” Shell store manager Adam Muise told ABC News.
Muise says LeBlanc came into his store this morning with the winning ticket, somewhat in shock.
“He walked in and he stood off to the side and didn’t really say anything,” Muise said. “We asked if he needed help with anything and continued to talk about someone winning, and he calmly said, ‘I won.’ He had a copy of the winning ticket.”
Muise said his fellow store workers congratulated LeBlanc, who said he was waiting for the friend with whom he was splitting the money.
The lucky store location, which sold a $1 million winning scratch-off ticket last year, will receive a $50,000 commission for selling the ticket.
“I hope that people feel that we’re lucky and come in and buy some lottery tickets and some more Powerball, and help our sales out over here,” Muise said.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio