Store clerk is winner of $258.5M Powerball lottery jackpot

Apr 23, 2010, 7:56 am (37 comments)

Powerball

The winning ticket for the biggest jackpot in Missouri history was sold at a convenience store in Marshall, and a store official said Thursday that the winner is a clerk who works at the store.

Lottery officials announced Thursday that a Powerball ticket purchased at the city's Break Time convenience store hit all six numbers in Wednesday night's drawing. The $258.5 million jackpot is the biggest ever won in Missouri, and the 10th-biggest Powerball jackpot ever.

Although the Lottery is waiting to verify the ticket before announcing the name of the winner, a Break Time official said the Lottery's communications director had left the store Thursday morning with an employee who bought the winning ticket.

"Gary Gonder with the Lottery scooped him off and is taking him to Jefferson City," said Jackie Maxwell, general manager of the Missouri-based Break Time convenience store chain. "The Missouri Lottery looked at his ticket, confirmed his numbers and took him away."

Maxwell was at the store doing a telephone interview with The Associated Press when the employee walked in and said he had won.

"This is just absolutely amazing," Maxwell said as cheering erupted in the background. "I'm so excited for him. I'm thrilled for him."

Lottery spokeswoman Susan Goedde confirmed that the ticket had been bought at that store and said it could take up to a day to verify the winning ticket.

The winner has been identified as Chris Shaw of Marshall, Mo.  Shaw is in his 20s and has been working at the store for only a few months before striking it rich.

"At this point he's trying to absorb that it's even real," she said in a later phone conversation with AP. "He's just a great guy, a good employee. When you think of a large winner like this, everyone likes to see that the person who won is somebody like (him). He's an awesome guy."

Natasha Woody said that she sold the winning ticket to her co-worker Wednesday night, adding that at the time he joked about having the winning ticket and told Woody that if he won he would give her $2 million.

"It's just the fact that I sold it," said Woody. "I got to touch the ticket."

Other customers said they wished they had purchased a ticket on Wednesday. One person said, "That could have been me, but I'm so excited for him."

Woody doesn't know if Shaw will take the joking promise seriously, but she said, "Honestly I think he'll do something, because he's that kind of guy."

Store manager Debbie Rogers said that Shaw had been a truck driver before working at the store. "He stopped driving trucks so he can be with his family," said Shaw.

He had been making $7.25 an hour as a clerk. Rogers said he had been facing some tough times.

"Nobody deserves it more than him," she said.

The winner can choose between a lump-sum pretax payment of roughly $124.8 million or take the jackpot in 30 payments over 29 years.

The winning numbers were 11-34-41-49-55, Powerball 20. The Power Play number was 2.

Break Time will receive $50,000 for selling the winning ticket.

The prize goes to an estimated $20 million for Saturday.

Maxwell said there have been several other lottery winners at Break Time stores in the past couple of years, including a $2.5 million Missouri Lotto ticket in St. Joseph, $1.5 million Lotto winner in Jefferson City and $1 million scratch-off ticket winner in Mexico. Mo.

Lottery Post Staff

Comments

konane's avatarkonane

Huge congratulations to Chris Shaw and his family!    Party

sully16's avatarsully16

Job well done..congratulations to the young man and his family.Hurray!

delS

Congrats to the young manand his family.  I pray he summons wisdom in his choices and decisions.  Im so sorry he came forward so fast without getting his affairs and advisors lined up. Moving this fast so soon after winning the 10th largest jackpot ever, doesnt bode well for someone of his stature, but I hope and pray his does not turn out to be a young version of Jack Whittaker or David Lee Edwards.

txwnr

Congrats to this young man.  However, I'm always suspicious when the clerks of the store win but this one sounds legit.

Lucky4Life's avatarLucky4Life

Quote: Originally posted by on Mar 29, 2024

I have a feeling we will be hearing a lot from Mr. Shaw in the future.

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

I am happy for this young man and wish him the best.

I can relate to the $28 bank account .... I have had my bank account reach that level many times since I lost my job in 2001 and became disabled in 2008! It is not an enjoyable life. You just have to hang in there and hope that better days are ahead.

As for him coming forward so soon ..... that would be me also ...... I am sure that he needs the money right away ..... if you are not able to handle the weath, waiting will not help you ...... as for me, I have had ample time to ponder what to do if things turn around for me financially!

Cool

 

To take from one because it is thought that his own industry and that of his father’s has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association—the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it. - Thomas Jefferson

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Kidzmom's avatarKidzmom

Natasha Woody said that she sold the winning ticket to her co-worker Wednesday night, adding that at the time he joked about having the winning ticket and told Woody that if he won he would give her $2 million.

I smell TROUBLE with this statement that Natasha Woody told the media!! with that kind of money at stake, people will find a way to turn that joke into a reality. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to him!!!!PartyI might add that I won $7 bucks...

Kidzmom's avatarKidzmom

Quote: Originally posted by Lucky4Life on Apr 23, 2010

I have a feeling we will be hearing a lot from Mr. Shaw in the future.

u might be right however he may not have had the resources to get his teeth fixed. Last time I checked a dental visit cost a lot more than $28. Free clinics are not free at all anymore.  Dentist want to be paid and by the time he waits for medicaid to help, all his teeth would have fell out by then.

petergrfn

Quote: Originally posted by on Mar 29, 2024

Yeah I say him on the news as well.  I don't think he has any idea how much money he now has...He is talking about paying off his electric bill and other bills....  I just wanted to say fella those bills are gone you are a Millionaire.  Take care of your children, your family and yourself....Including get your teeth fix.  (There could be reasons he has bad teeth, gum disease, Bar Fight)  Do yourself a favor and skip town for a couple of weeks.    I know he only made $7.00 an hour and may not have the money yet but he should do something to get away from all the "New Friends" and "family" that's going to be calling him for money.....   Good luck with your new fortune sir.....  I hope you use it well and prosper.

GASMETERGUY

This might seem insensitive to some but I'm going to say it anyway.

I love it when someone such as this man wins a jackpot.  There he is, doing his best (or the best he knows how to do), plodding along, trying to pay bills on minimum wage, and then lightning strikes.  At least he now has a chance at life provided he does not become another Jack Whitaker.

I wish him well.

McCaskey

Quote: Originally posted by GASMETERGUY on Apr 23, 2010

This might seem insensitive to some but I'm going to say it anyway.

I love it when someone such as this man wins a jackpot.  There he is, doing his best (or the best he knows how to do), plodding along, trying to pay bills on minimum wage, and then lightning strikes.  At least he now has a chance at life provided he does not become another Jack Whitaker.

I wish him well.

I agree with your sentiments and I'm very happy for the young man; his co-workers vouch for him, say he's a good guy, etc.

 

I think, however, there could be potential problems on the horizon, given his age and life experience as we know it so far. 

 

Someone in their 20's working at a convenience store suggests minimum education beyond high school, unless he's working there and going to college at the same time. Hopefully he uses his windfall to take some business/financial classes, not that he needs a degree after winning PB, lol, but simply to help him make decisions about what to do with, what...clearing about 90 million dollars after taxes? The Jack Whitaker example is interesting in the fact that Whitaker was a middle-aged adult and a successful business owner...and still manged to piss away so much money.

 

The other wild card here with the new winner is family. If he has a solid, stable group of loving family members who will help guide and direct him and not leech off him, that might be the biggest 'plus' in his favor. I sincerely hope he has that family support-center.

KY Floyd's avatarKY Floyd

"his co-workers vouch for him, say he's a good guy, etc."

Like the one who reminded him publicly that he now owes her 2 million? Yeah, I'm sure going to put all my faith in those people in forming an opinion about the guy.

Raven62's avatarRaven62

Congrats to the Lucky Winner!

THRUST's avatarTHRUST

Sweet win! Thumbs Up

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