Powerball: Group of nine claims $207M Powerball lottery jackpot
Nine friends from Roswell came to the New Mexico Lottery today to collect a Powerball jackpot of $206.9 million — the New Mexico Lottery's largest prize ever.
The nine winners are Carl and Holly Baldwin, Kevin and Jessica Breedyk, Ron and Cindy Miller, Ryan and Nicole Miller, and Randy Miller. The friends elected to take the prize in a cash payment of $102.9 million rather than the annuity option of 30 payments over 29 years.
"I Started Bawling"
With money chipped in by her friends, a determined Holly Baldwin irked her husband, Carl, by leaving a family birthday party to drive across town to buy Powerball tickets at her favorite lottery retailer. At Roswell Shell No. 47, Baldwin purchased the wagers less than two hours before the Sept. 27 drawing at 8:59 p.m. Mountain Time.
After breakfast the following morning, Baldwin went to the lottery's website to check the winning numbers, unaware that the state was already buzzing with news that a jackpot-winning ticket had been sold in New Mexico. Among her ticket's quick pick set of numbers, Baldwin discovered the jackpot-winning combination of 13, 24, 29, 40, 52 and the red Powerball of 29.
"I started bawling," the 29-year-old woman said.
Baldwin began calling fellow winners.
"When Holly called me," Nicole Miller recalled, "my first reaction was that she was playing a practical joke because I could hear Carl laughing in the background."
After arriving home Sunday afternoon from a weekend road trip, Kevin and Jessica Breedyk had to be coaxed to get back into their car to drive to the Baldwin home.
"They finally said 'We have a birthday surprise for you,'" Jessica Breedyk recalled.
The winners, who sought legal advice before claiming their prize, plan to make investments.
"Every one of these young people realizes they have undertaken a major new responsibility," said co-winner Ron Miller.
Lottery CEO Tom Romero said the jackpot run up to $206.9 million started Aug. 6 at $15 million and rolled 15 times.
"During the run up, the lottery sold $7.6 million in Powerball wagers, players won $2.2 million in non-jackpot prizes, and $2.05 million was raised for Legislative Lottery Scholarships," Romero said. "This run up did a lot of good for the entire State of New Mexico."
Roswell Shell No. 47, owned by Brewer Oil, has sold 11 other large prize-winning lottery tickets ranging from $700 to $100,000. The store is located at 3001 N. Main Street in Roswell.
Since Powerball was launched in the state in October 1996, the New Mexico Lottery has had four other multi-million dollar jackpots. The state's first Powerball jackpot was claimed in November 2000 by 14 Sandia National Laboratory employees. They shared $131 million. In February 2002, Isabell Delgado of Las Cruces won $32 million. John San Cartier, an airman from Kirtland Air Force Base, collected $93.4 million in August 2005. Felipe Piña of Los Ojos claimed $62.8 million in May 2007.
Nine friends from Roswell came to the New Mexico Lottery today to collect a Powerball jackpot of $206.9 million -- the New Mexico Lottery's largest prize ever.