A retired electrician and World War II veteran is the winner of the largest lottery jackpot ever sold in Missouri — worth more than a quarter of a billion dollars.
Jim Wilson II's, 84, and his wife, Shirley, say they will share the money with three sons. One of those sons, Terry Wilson, who said he hasn't had a vacation in 30 years, likely will be headed to Australia for some rest and recreation.
Jim Wilson came forward Monday to claim the winning prize from last Wednesday's drawing, said Missouri lottery spokeswoman Susan Goedde. The family was introduced at an afternoon news conference in Chesterfield.
Jim Wilson bought the winning ticket just one hour before the close of Powerball sales.
Wilson asked for a $5 ticket at a store shortly before the drawing, and the clerk mentioned that the shop had some $5 Powerball "Quick Pick" tickets with computer-selected numbers already printed, the statement said.
Wilson agreed and took the next ticket, which turned out to be the single winner.
The state lottery said it was the 10th biggest lottery jackpot in the world ever won on a single ticket.
Wilson and his wife, Shirley, 79, have three grown sons, James, 59, William, 54, and Terril, 53, all of St. Louis, and the family has been buying lottery tickets for years with an agreement to share the winnings.
Terry Wilson, 53, was forced to retire from a company where he had worked 32 years. His brother, Bill Wilson, 54, lost his job when the company he worked for closed. He is, however, working a new job for an area school district. A third brother, Jim Wilson III, is 59.
Totally awesome and then some!! Huge congrats to them all!!
"Wilson asked for a $5 ticket at a store shortly before the drawing, and the clerk mentioned that the shop had some $5 Powerball "Quick Pick" tickets with computer-selected numbers already printed, the statement said.
Wonder if these were "mistakes" or "changed my mind" tickets they offered him????
If so someone is certainly sorry they refused it.
Talk about luck! Great story.
We can scheme , plan , and select our numbers all we want to, but as with this family, when it's your time, it's your time..
Not just a quick pick, but a quick pick that was already printed and just sitting there for who knows how long waiting for someone to buy it...
Way to go Wilsons !!!
Hey WPB, what's up with all these North Carolinians getting 5 of 5 (and very wisely selecting power play ) on the PB ?
2 from this drawing won $1 million and there have been several NC tickets recently hit the 5 of 5..
I think I'm buying me some tickets in NC next time I'm there...
DD
doubledown, I buy my tickets but luck has not hit YET! I think we just have some gamblers in NC and a lot of people buying tickets. My time is coming. Soon I hope!
I don't know if it holds true for every state, but in SC powerball tickets can't be cancelled.If you say you want PB,then you buy em!
If no customer bought those pre-printed tickets, would the store have been forced to "eat" that 254 million?
Inquiring minds want to know.
DD
It hasn't worked for me yet!!!
Congrats to the Wilsons!
I hope their grandchildren won't get spoiled by the winning prize. Well, as long as they can invest in the right place their descendants are all set for life.
I read the story on the KMOV website. Toward the end of the text it said that money doesn't always bring happiness and it gave a quick outline of JW's story. Being that I have not heard a PEEP out of the Lerners who won MM a few years ago for a similar amount, I don't get why they tossed that in. Are jealous reporters trying to jinx these people or just warn them? Not everyone who wins will make poor choices. Also I hope they are thankful to all of us who contributed to the jackpot (well I got thanked with 3+1 on the next drawing!)
I doubt it was a "mistake" ticket. When the jackpot's get really large and they expect that there will be an increase in ticket buying a lot of places will print up a bunch of $5-$4-$3 tickets so they can save time. However, I see alot of people superstitiously turn these tickets down wanting their tickets printed out when they stand there, so I would bet somebody probably did turn it down.
What! a stroke of luck
Wow, With Jim being 84 years old I sure hope he takes the cash option. You just never know when your number will come up! Congratulations to Mr. Wilson and his family.