JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Missouri man who won a $258 million Powerball jackpot and plans to use some of the money to pay bills, replace his two missing front teeth and take his children to Disney World said he hasn't decided whether he'll quit his job at the convenience store where he bought the winning ticket.
Chris Shaw — a 29-year-old tattooed father of three who was raised by his grandparents in rural southern Missouri — came forward Thursday as the winner of the 10th-largest Powerball jackpot ever. Shaw said he had just $28.96 in his bank account and recently bought a 1998 Ford Ranger from a friend who agreed to let him pay off the $1,000 price $100 at a time. Now, he said, he no longer has to worry about how he'll pay his friend — or his utility bills.
"We didn't come from money. For us it's just going to be a huge relief to know I'm going to be able to pay my electric bill, my gas bill," Shaw told The Associated Press. "It's like a weight lifted. I had bills at home I didn't know how they were going to be paid."
Shaw said he bought the $5 ticket Wednesday at the Break Time convenience store where he works in Marshall, a central Missouri town about 80 miles east of Kansas City. He accepted his ceremonial check at the Missouri Lottery headquarters in Jefferson City wearing a tan and red plaid shirt, a red hat and a huge grin — minus two front teeth he says he lost because he didn't take care of them but can now afford to have replaced.
"I'm just a regular guy working paycheck to paycheck ... well not any more," he said.
Shaw said he needed a few days to decide whether he will keep his minimum-wage job at the store where he has worked for just three weeks. He also plans to seek advice "from people who know about money" about whether to take the jackpot in 30 payments over 29 years or the lump-sum amount of $124,875,122.
His boss, Jackie Maxwell, general manager of the Missouri-based Break Time convenience store chain, was thrilled to hear Shaw had won.
"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 Chris," she said in a telephone interview with the AP.
Shaw — who has a 10-year-old son, a 7-year-old girl and a 5-year-old girl by two different women — said he had played Missouri Scratchers lottery tickets before, winning at most $80. He checked his Powerball ticket against the state lottery's website only after his girlfriend, Tosha Ewry, told him the winning ticket was bought at the store where he works.
When Shaw called Ewry back to tell her the news, she thought he was joking, he said. Finally, he said he told her: "I swear on a stack of Bibles, you need to leave work and come home."
The winning numbers were 11-34-41-49-55, Powerball 20. The Power Play number was 2.
Shaw said he looks forward to spending more time with his kids, who live with their mothers about 240 miles southeast of him in his hometown of Alton, as well as with his girlfriend's two sons — 13-year-old and 15-year-old boys Shaw says he considers his own. He plans to take them all to Disney World in Florida.
"I can be with them as much as I want now," Shaw said.
He said his children already have been asking for new skateboards, bicycles and "just stuff that's really hard to do when you make $7.25 an hour."
Break Time will receive $50,000 for selling the winning ticket. If Shaw takes a lump-sum payment, the state income taxes due on the winnings would be about $6 million, state budget director Linda Luebbering said.
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I'm a big believer in the cash option but I think this guy should take the annuity.
If he can't decide whether to keep his $7.25 an hour job, he probably wouldn't handle all that cash too well either.
I wish him the best of luck though.
Very happy for Chris and his family, I hate that people made such a
big issue over his 2 front teeth. They was laughin at him on the
Kathie Lee and HODA show this mornin.
Well Chris they won't b laughin at u now.
GOOD Luck with yur winnings.
I believe in the annuity option for myself, at my age, but my concern in income taxes. Rates are low now and will almost certainly rise in the future. In Texas we have to choose the option when buying tickets, and I always choose the cash option if the annuity payments would much exceed $1,000,000.
He's going from a minimum wage job to ultra-high net worth. He doesn't know how to be wealthy, but hopefully he'll learn quickly.
He looks like a nice kid. You can't help but wish him the best.
I just hope he gets the kind of advice he needs.
I just know I'd probably be kind of dumb with that much money at his age.
(Truth be told, I'd still be kinda dumb with that much money at this age too but it'd be on purpose).
If he sold the ticket to himself, he won't have to think about tipping the clerk that sold him the ticket.
true....
I wish him only the best managing his new life!
yeah at my age too i would probably choose the annuity.....
No annuity for me thanks but it'll be interesting to see where he's at in five years to see if he's gone even further into a lottery winner stereotype or not... He probably should have waited until he had things sorted out before coming forward because he's going to have all the crooks out there giving him their sound advice to bankruptcy. Then he's going to have "fun" of dealing with his exes he's had kids with (maybe some he hasn't) and other issues that will be coming his way. Best thing he can do now is get the hell out of town.
well that is great news always good to hear when folk's really needed the money ,now him and his family can live a better life cheers .
I definitely think he should take the annuity. For a young guy it is perfect -- he would probably not come close to the rate of return Powerball gives on their annuity if he invested himself. Plus, it doesn't require any self-discipline to maintain year after year.
Of course, many will disagree with me on this, but hey, that's why we have a forum here.
I am 32, I would take the cash option...always. That is just me though. He needs to do what is best for him. I just hope he really thinks this through and truly goes with his intentions...cause people will be pulling him in all sorts of directions...If I were him I would take time and get away from "the big win" for a bit and relax and think...do some homework. I'd hate to see him lose it all because of mistakes and trusting the wrong people.
Best of luck to him.
I'm with you all the way on this.
(1) He is young
(2) He has young children, should something happen to him they can continue to get the money for the remainder of the annuity period.
Here's one dad that does'nt have to worry about saving up for college.
Congratulations and the very best wishes to the winner!
That being said, I must protest the recommendations of many on this board that he take the annuity. While that might seem the "safe" option, particularly for the financially unsophisticated, in truth, it is a guaranteed loser.
As you may remember, the annuity option is the present value of the prize invested in a "ladder" of dollar denominated US Treasury Securities. At the moment, the Dollar is doing relatively well, but that's because the Euro is in bigger trouble. As we speak, the Swiss Central Bank is pulling every trick in the book to keep the Swiss Franc from sky rocketing against every other currency outside of Asia. They will ultimately fail.
At the same time our biggest creditors, as in the Chinese, are cycling their holdings in US Treasuries into shorter and shorter maturities. The only reason they don't dump dollars is thay need our markets for their export economy.
Our path to unsustainable public debt which can never be really paid off can only result in the fall of both the dollar and treasuries.
This colossal house of cards will eventually collapse and it won't twenty-nine years to do it.
Mr. Shaw needs to retain the best tax attorney he can find as soon as possible. From there, he needs to assemble a team of advisors. Most importantly, he needs to educate himself on matters financial. It's not easy, but it's not rocket science. The web is a good place to start.
#2 is a very very good point
When your young you take the annuity and when your old and feeble like ridge runner here is you take the cash option and spend it before you die..Good luck ridge..
Thank GOD. Someone who's name I can pronounce won. Good Job Buddy!
hmm,how to put a "nice" spin on it
he has small army of kids take care of 5 total
, 3 of hes own blood, and 2 of hes current GF's
so thats 5 kids getting whatever they want am guesting,good for them, enjoy their childhood
and maybe one a super genius in waiting about to get all the education money they ever need to bring their talents out
now, if he don't take the cash with the current state of the US and the world, he be a loser i think at the end of it
no one in their right mind buying long term us treasury bills,
its just not being Done by Smart folks, who can clearly see we will Crush and burn thx to all this govt spending/debt/wastefulness
, its just a matter of When it all blow up in our face's ,
i mean the fed reserve is buying long term treasury bills for christs sake
thats like writeing your self a check when you have o money in the bank to cover the check
in other words
its a big govt scam to fund it self
we can't do what the us govt is doing, we be arrested for check fuard
anyone who thinks we have a stable longterm currency , is out of their bloody mind
so take the cash and run the hell away form the usd as fast as he bloody can in solid investments that is anything but our currency longterm
its backed by the full faith and credit of us govt, atm their a group of idiotic fools, cant trust them with your future
I'm 57 and if I ever win I'm going annuity-and make a will so my kids get the rest when I die. I think cash value is a bad choice especailly the way the economy is right now.
So....there's been no mention if it was an "Easy pic , or He plays the same numbers weekly ??...?? (Good for you, & congrads Mr. Winner) !
and, Why does it take up to 2 days for the Lottery to verify if the ticket is in fact the winning one or not? (as stated in the 1st post announcing a winner).
So out of the $258.M How much is the fellow actually gonna end up with (assume he takes the cash option)?? Like less than a 3rd maybe?? I think I'd actually be angry that "they" took so much of MY winnings!!!! (haha)..
have fun all & lets buy a ton of tickets & build'er up again !!
Im happy for the guy. I hope he gets good advice. But one thing,..... wouldnt it have been nice for 100
people to win instead of just one?
As much as I wanted to win, I always feel good when someone who REALLY needs the money wins. I was amazed that he was carrying that ticket around like a piece of scrap paper. I kept thinking the wind was going to blow it out of his hand. LOL.
Congrats to him and I hope he spends the money wisely.
Yes that would be nice...and I would hope to be one of the 100.
So pleased it was a one person winner!!! Best they get the entire cake then the crumbs left...
May he realize after Uncle Sam and his child support increase, his winnings will deplete quickly. Invest in life....the money will follow.
Glad we got a family man winner! In these tough times he sounds like a decent chap.
Curious---assuming your scenario comes to fruition, doesn't that mean the 'dollar' becomes virtually worthless, whether it's 'dollars' coming to you every year from an annuity for 30 years or 'dollars' already paid out to you with a cash option?
I mean, either way...aren't we all basically screwed if our 'dollars'...no matter how many of them we have or the time frame we collect them in, are worthless when 'the colossal house of cards' collapse based on our foreign debt?
So what's the difference if and when all this happens if someone takes the cash option or annuity in a big lotto win now?
He could put in gold teeth now.
For the rest of us, too bad O'bama Care doesn't? cover Dental.
Wait 'till I win, the things I will be mocked for, my perpetual bad hair day,
and the shirt that says "Feeling Lucky?"
Dude DEFINITELY needs to take the annuity option. That's the safest bet for him at his age. Plus, maybe it will keep the vultures back a little bit knowing he doesn’t have it all at once. I would do it that way being as that I'm just a couple of years older than him and am in the same financial situation...but that's because I've learned things the hard way.
Having come into a very small sum of money (compared to his) in the past and having family & friends come at me to "borrow" some...it's just not worth the headache. You give and give and give....and then there's nothing left for you in the end. Meanwhile, of course no one ever pays you back.
I didn't understand investments, etc and I definitely didn't know how to say NO! If I'm ever blessed again with a large sum of cash I'm talking to an accountant first and an attorney 2nd. He seems like a sweet guy…that will want to please EVERYONE. I hope the lottery curse doesn’t claim him.
I am happy for the young man. He should be able to afford a consultant on the best option for him and how to save, distribute, and invest his money. On another note, I thought you could not sell yourself a ticket in the store or is that in certain states with certain games or is it just store policy. I have heard so many scam stories about these clerk selling themselves tickets and when to buy them. I also found out through a store clerk that when you request a Quick Pick that you can tell them not to request the first Quick Pick that comes up. That you can request the 50th set of numbers or what number you decide the machine to print. Has LP members had a clerk to tell you that?