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Eastern Time (GMT-5:00) | Home -> Forums -> Lottery News -> Lucky Break: Co-workers win lottery Lucky Break: Co-workers win lottery Mega Millions: Lucky Break: Co-workers win lotteryPooling resources can sometimes pay off in a big way — just ask the 14 co-workers at United Plastics Corp. in Mount Airy, North Carolina, who won $250,000 in the Nov. 15 Mega Millions drawing by matching five of six numbers. The group — machinists, production workers and some of their supervisors — picked up a check yesterday from the Virginia Lottery. Each will get about $13,000 after taxes, money they say will be used to pay off bills, take long-awaited vacations and make Christmas morning extra nice for their families. "It's been jubilation on everybody's part," said Larry Conner, a supervisor from Ararat, who has worked 25 years at the plant. When the Mega Millions jackpot swelled to $250 million earlier this month, Conner suggested to his co-worker Murphy Jones of Cana, Va., that they should get some people together and buy tickets. Each of the 14 chipped in $5 for a total of $70, and bought 70 "easy pick" tickets for Nov. 10. They did it again for Nov. 15. Jones was in charge of buying the tickets, and after the Nov. 15 drawing, he began comparing the tickets to the winning numbers. He confirmed the numbers with lottery officials before telling his fellow workers. About 2 p.m. Thursday, the news hit the plant floor. The co-workers had matched every winning number — 2, 4, 5, 40, 48 — except the Mega Ball (7), which meant a cash prize of $250,000. "Not a bad investment," Conner said. "It's a blessing from God." "We had one guy in the group, his wife passed away one year ago this Thanksgiving. He made the statement he would be able to pay off funeral expenses and be able to buy her a headstone.... A lot of the young guys who have families — it's going to be a good Christmas," Conner said. Winston-Salem Journal We'd love to see your comments here! Register for a FREE membership — it takes just a few moments — and you'll be able to post comments here and on any of our forums. If you're already a member, you can Log In to post a comment. 12 comments. Last comment 6 years ago by . Coastal Georgia United States Member #2703 October 30, 2003 1867 Posts Offline | | Posted: November 23, 2005, 11:03 am - IP Logged | |
I love a good story about good fortune that doesn't involve lawsuits and bickering..... | | |
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| | Posted: November 23, 2005, 12:20 pm - IP Logged | |
I love a good story about good fortune that doesn't involve lawsuits and bickering..... Those stories always seem to involved MA annuity-only tickets. | | |
United States Member #12856 March 18, 2005 2060 Posts Offline | | Posted: November 23, 2005, 1:18 pm - IP Logged | |
Although having the full $250,000 would have been better, I wouldn't turn down 13,000 dollars.  Dance like no one is watching.
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United States Member #24782 October 22, 2005 551 Posts Offline | | Posted: November 23, 2005, 2:01 pm - IP Logged | |
Glad to see people who appreciate a small cash windfall. | | |
Washington North Carolina United States Member #14433 April 22, 2005 22 Posts Offline | | Posted: November 25, 2005, 2:24 pm - IP Logged | |
I love it when a plan comes together. The only way I could be happier would be to be a winner myself. My day's a comin'. | | |
Maryland United States Member #10659 January 14, 2005 4725 Posts Offline | | Posted: November 26, 2005, 7:37 am - IP Logged | |
This is a nice heart-warming story. One that encourage group participation in the work place. On my job people have been threatened to be " Fired" if they were caught participating in any gambling pool, although I have had a Supervisor and a Manager participate in pools that I had established in the past. I like reading stories when these work place pools workout. But, hold on to your hats. If everyone didnot get into this pool, some jealous or distraught person may come forward. I hope not but stay tune. litebets | | |
United States Member #569 August 14, 2002 453 Posts Offline | | Posted: November 26, 2005, 10:51 am - IP Logged | |
I always buy lottery tickets alone. I never play in groups, because of the potential lawsuits and bickering. Smart lottery winners form trust to claim their winnings. They send an attorney to the lottery headquarters to claim the prize in trust, so that ONLY the name of the trust is revealed. And they tell NO ONE, especially relatives. If you ever win a lottery and you are single, the only person you should ever marry is someone who was truly in love with you BEFORE you won the jackpot! | | |
Wandering Aimlessly United States Member #25708 November 5, 2005 4405 Posts Offline | | Posted: November 26, 2005, 8:41 pm - IP Logged | |
There's strength in numbers and I'd like to join a local lottery pool. I disagree there has to be any lawsuits or bickering if everything is spelled out in writing from the beginning. If I recall, the co-workers in CA who won a few weeks ago didn't have any trouble collecting even though some people said they usually participated in the pool. 200 tickets have a much better chance of winning a big jackpot than 10. One rule would be that any tickets not bought by the group would belong to the owner. I've been betting the same sets of numbers for over 10 years and I'm not sharing! Hmm..maybe you do have a point after all !  | | |
Baton Rouge, LA United States Member #4685 May 7, 2004 460 Posts Offline | | Posted: November 27, 2005, 11:02 am - IP Logged | |
In my office, me and 3 of my coworkers have a lottery pool going. We each put up $3 every payday(every 2 weeks), and buy a total of $12 worth of tickets. We buy 2 Powerall and 1 Lotto for each drawing. So far all we've won is $4. We agreed to take our winnings and split them up 4 ways minus costs of claiming them(legal fees, etc.) if we win anything.
We even have a plan on what to do if we win the big one. We plan to incorporate, have a lawyer collect the money so as to keep a low profile, then quit our jobs one at a time so nobody will be suspicious. Two of us plan on leaving the city, don't know about the other two.
Pools can work out well if everything is agreed upon and understood ahead of time, and followed through once the pool starts.
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| | Posted: November 28, 2005, 2:03 pm - IP Logged | |
This is a nice heart-warming story. One that encourage group participation in the work place. On my job people have been threatened to be " Fired" if they were caught participating in any gambling pool, although I have had a Supervisor and a Manager participate in pools that I had established in the past. I like reading stories when these work place pools workout. But, hold on to your hats. If everyone didnot get into this pool, some jealous or distraught person may come forward. I hope not but stay tune. litebets Construction (hard) hats? | | |
Clarksville,Tennessee United States Member #8823 November 13, 2004 1863 Posts Offline | | Posted: November 28, 2005, 2:11 pm - IP Logged | |
There's strength in numbers and I'd like to join a local lottery pool. I disagree there has to be any lawsuits or bickering if everything is spelled out in writing from the beginning. If I recall, the co-workers in CA who won a few weeks ago didn't have any trouble collecting even though some people said they usually participated in the pool. 200 tickets have a much better chance of winning a big jackpot than 10. One rule would be that any tickets not bought by the group would belong to the owner. I've been betting the same sets of numbers for over 10 years and I'm not sharing! Hmm..maybe you do have a point after all ! that's why you make copies of the tickets that are in the pool and give them out so everyone knows what numbers are in the pool. If you win on your own tickets nobody can complain because they knew before the draw what numbers were theirs. I love doubles and remember, it's just a game!!!!!! | | |
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June 5, 2002
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| | Posted: November 30, 2005, 1:18 pm - IP Logged | |
If the A&P that I work at joined a Mega Millions pool, I would play along. But not for NY Lotto. | | |
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