Powerball: Suit seeks $213M in lottery winnings
Clarksdale City Commissioner Charles "Buster" Moton has already thought about what he would do with a $213 million Powerball winning.
Build state-of-the-art recreational facilities for young people, help churches repair or rebuild and assist families that can't afford decent housing, he said.
He must convince a judge and jury, however, that he is a jackpot winner in the May 8 Tennessee Powerball lottery.
Moton filed suit last week against the Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. saying he lost a Powerball ticket worth $213 million after the lottery's telephone voice recording gave him the wrong winning numbers.
"I am the winner," he said. "I did win that day."
He won't discuss how he is going to prove he had the winning ticket, saying that is confidential.
Kym Gerlock, vice president of communications for the Tennessee Lottery, said the firm knew about Moton's claim; however she could not discuss it because the company had not been served as of Friday.
"I can say, we have not sold a Powerball jackpot ticket in this state since April," Gerlock said.
Gerlock also said Lottery Tennessee has never been the subject of a lawsuit based on claims similar to those alleged by Moton.
In his lawsuit, Moton said he went to Memphis on May 8 and "made play purchases at several different retail locations and obtained the matching game tickets." The following morning he called the lottery's toll-free telephone number to find out the winning number.
Based on what he was told, Moton said he didn't secure the game tickets, "one of which in fact was a jackpot-winning ticket."
Moton said he bought lottery tickets again for the May 12 lottery. When he checked that evening to see if he had the winning ticket for that drawing, he learned the ticket he had for the May 8 drawing was the jackpot winner for that day.
Moton, 51, a city commissioner for about three years, said he's played the lottery before in other states when he's gone on vacation.
Is he still playing the Tennessee Powerball lottery? He's not saying.