NR 12-25-02 ... A $240,640 winning ticket from Cape Coral is the highest Fantasy 5 payout in Lee County.

NR 12-22-02 ... A $244,786 winning ticket from Ocala is the highest Fantasy 5 payout in Marion County.

Twenty-Six Alabama Factory Workers Claim ¼ Share Of $104.85 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 12-21-02 ... On Friday, Dec 20, a group of 26 factory workers from Dothan, Alabama, claimed their ¼ share of the $104.85 million Lotto jackpot from the Dec 14 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. The claim was made in the name of "The Lucky 26 Partnership" by two members of the group on behalf of all 26 participants.

The group chose to collect its award in form of a lump-sum payment of $14,281,344, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $873,000 each. The cash value of the prize is approximately $400,000 after taxes for each member.

The party of factory workers were the second of four winners of Lotto's second largest jackpot in history to claim their share. David L. Rush, Sr., a financial consultant from Marco Island, claimed the first share on Dec 18 [story]. The other two winning tickets – from Fort Pierce and Jacksonville, respectively – have not been redeemed yet.

"It's not enough to quit work — only one person has said he might do that," said David Stokes, Jr., member and General Partner of the group. "This money is more for the future than for the immediate. It's the amount of money that keeps you well grounded."

"The number one thing is education for our kids," stated pool member Bonnie Ezell.

"There's going to be some businesses started, bills paid, houses paid off, and at least one person going back to school," indicated the group's attorney, Harry P. Hall, II.

Bonnie got the idea of starting the playing pool when her co-workers were unusually lucky at winning door prizes at their company's Christmas party.

"Then the jackpot went to $100 million and I knew we had to start a pool," she commented. "We had everybody sign an agreement to share the money equally. We collected $5.00 from everybody and bought 130 tickets - all Quick Picks."

One pool member purchased the group's tickets at Big Daddy's, located at 1179 Highway 79 in Bonifay. The store has received a $2,500 retailer bonus [= ¼ of $10,000] for selling one of the four jackpot winning tickets.

"I think one of us was supposed to win," Bonnie observed, "and the rest of us are just along for the ride."

The 26 winners are all employees of Dunbarton Corporation in Dothan, Alabama, which manufactures steel frames and bifold doors. They range in age from the early twenties to the late forties.

"A friend who is in the pool called and got me out of bed after the drawing Saturday night," David revealed about finding out the news. "I thought it was strange he was whispering, but I heard him say, 'I think we won the Lottery.'"

David got a few more calls from other group members and then called Bonnie.

"I didn't believe him at first," Bonnie mentioned. "I thought he was kidding, but I could hear his wife screaming in the background!"

The members of The Lucky 26 Partnership are the 4^th Florida Lotto winners with a ticket from Holmes County, the first winners with a ticket from the city of Bonifay, and the 743^rd overall winners since the game began in 1988.

Total ticket sales for this jackpot generated approximately $68 million for public education in Florida.

NR 12-20-02 ... Winter Solstice ... The northern hemispheric winter begins this year on Saturday, Dec 21, at precisely 08:01 pm ET. At that moment, the sun reaches its maximum offset of -23°27' from the celestial equator, a declination known as the Tropic of Capricorn. Since the sun will be at its southernmost point in relation to the earth on Dec 21, this will be the shortest day of the year [for everybody who lives north of the equator, that is]. Enjoy the season !!!
 

Marco Island Man Claims ¼ Share Of $104.85 Million Lotto Jackpot

NR 12-19-02 ... On Wednesday, Dec 18, a man from Marco Island claimed his ¼ share of the $104.85 million Lotto jackpot from the Dec 14 drawing at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. David L. Rush, Sr. (71), a former White House TV news reporter and now a financial adviser, chose to collect his award in form of a single cash payment of $14,281,344, instead of receiving 30 annual installments of approximately $873,000 each. He flew to the state's capital in a chartered airplane.

David was the first of four winners of Lotto's second largest jackpot in history to claim his prize. The other three winning tickets – from Bonifay, Fort Pierce and Jacksonville, respectively – have not been redeemed yet.

"I have managed lots of big money for other people," David said. "This is the first time I have handled this much of my own money!"

David also indicated, however, that he does not expect the money to change his life very much. "I have been doing everything I want to do already," he observed. "I'm doing all the things retired people do and I have a purpose in life because I have my work, too. I had not planned to retire, and I don't plan to now."

While not planning very much for themselves, David and his wife have already set up accounts to pay for college education for their grandchildren and great grandchild. They will also provide their three adult children with inheritance proceeds now - instead of later, and will make donations to their church and selected charities.

David bought his lucky ticket at the Kwik Stop Food Store, located at 1767 San Marco Road on Marco Island. The store will receive a $2,500 retailer bonus [= ¼ of $10,000] for selling one of the four jackpot winning tickets.

David stated that he has played Lotto almost every week since it began in 1988, always using essentially the same numbers. Since Saturday's [Dec 14] jackpot was so high, however, he decided to buy an additional 10 tickets with Quick Pick combinations. "The winner was the next to the last one," he remarked.

David said he found out that he was the winner when reports of a jackpot-winning ticket that was sold in Marco Island prompted him to check the newspaper. "I was amazingly calm," he noted. "When I convinced my wife we had won, she was appropriately hysterical."

"I'm here claiming the money, but my wife is at home waiting to spend it," he added.

David's attorneys, Glenn Tucker and Donald "Dusty" Rhodes, as well as Rhodes' wife, Nancy Rhodes, accompanied him to Tallahassee.

David revealed that there was a "conspiracy of silence" among the five people who knew he was the winner. "As small as Marco Island is, all you would have to do is tell one other person and everyone on the island would know," he commented.

David is the 7^th Florida Lotto winner with a ticket from Collier County, the first winner with a ticket from the city of Marco Island, and the 742^nd overall winner since the game began in 1988.

Total ticket sales for this jackpot generated approximately $68 million for public education in Florida.

NR 12-17-02 ... Plant City is the 232^nd Florida location to register a Fantasy 5 jackpot winner.

NR 12-16-02 ... Higher-than-expected sales increased the previously estimated $100 million jackpot from Dec 14 actually to $104.85 million. Each winner thus receives $26.21 million.

NR 12-15-02 ... Four players with tickets from Bonifay, Fort Pierce, Jacksonville and Marco Island share $100 million Lotto jackpot on Dec 14. Each winner has the option of receiving a $14,281,344 lump-sum payment or a $25 million 30-year annuity [= $833,333 per year].

The winning locations are [each retailer receives a $2,500 bonus]:

Big Daddy's, 1179 North Highway 79, Bonifay
Publix, 2517 South Federal Highway, Fort Pierce
Sunrise Food Mart, 4023 Southside Blvd., Jacksonville
Kwik Stop Foods, 1767 San Marco Road, Marco Island