Indiana Lottery: Man claims $7.8 million Hoosier Lotto jackpot
A Wabash man today claimed a $7.8 million jackpot from a Hoosier Lottery drawing last week.
Jack Hall opted to take the $3.9 million cash option for winning the Sept. 8 jackpot, lottery officials said.
Hall said he planned to share the winnings with his longtime companion, 73-year-old Jewel Watkins, and her three children.
He also wanted to take the family on a trip to Las Vegas, but said he had not made any other decisions on how to spend the winnings.
"I've always said if I ever win the lottery, I'd build a new bowling alley," Hall said.
The jackpot-winning numbers were: 5, 8, 18, 21, 27 and 47.
Ronnie Watkins, a son of Jewel Watkins, said Hall and his mother will probably do some remodeling to their home to make it more accessible since Hall has limited mobility because of a stroke.
Watkins also said the family had talked to an investment professional and a lawyer to make sure they did not rush into anything.
Hall bought the ticket at a Village Pantry store in the city about 40 miles southwest of Fort Wayne, where he meets some friends almost every day to have coffee and talk. That store is to receive an $80,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
"I ought to get my coffee for free now," Hall said.
The drawing for the jackpot Hall won came just days after a Sept. 5 deadline passed for the winner of a $4.7 million Hoosier Lotto prize from March to come forward, the lottery said
The winning ticket for the March 10 drawing was sold at a Shell gas station in Kentland, about 60 miles south of Gary. Indiana law says that if a lottery prize is not collected within 180 days, the money goes toward future prizes or promotions.