By Todd Northrop
A Tennessee couple that won a share of the $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot says they plan to return to their jobs after winning the mammoth prize.
At a press conference Friday, Tennessee Lottery president Rebecca Hargrove said that John and Lisa Robinson had the winning ticket and the lottery had verified it. The Robinsons are from Munford, Tennessee, a small town about 25 miles north of Memphis.
John and Lisa Robinson said they plan to pay off the mortgage on their small house, pay off their daughter Tiffany's student loans and go back to work. Lisa asked the press to stop visiting her place of employment — a doctor's office.
When an incredulous news reporter asked why return to work, Lisa Robinson replied, "Why not?" Her husband added, "That's what we've done all our lives."
The Robinsons said they are going to take the lump sum cash payout of $327,835,000 rather than the annuitized amount of $528.8 million because they are "not guaranteed tomorrow." They were unable to come up with anything that they would splurge some of their new cash on. John said he didn't want a bigger house because "you have to clean it."
"I am a little overwhelmed and excited," Lisa said during the press conference. "We just wanted a little piece of the pie, but instead we got a big piece."
According to Hargrove, it would take about 10 days for the Robinsons to receive their bank check, because the money for the jackpot has to flow from the states to the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), and then finally to the Tennessee Lottery.
The Robinsons appeared with their daughter, their lawyer, and their dog at a news conference Friday at the Tennessee lottery headquarters after their winning ticket was verified by lottery officials.
John said he bought the winning ticket at his wife's request at the family-owned Naifeh's grocery on his way home from work, even though he wasn't feeling well. He bought four quick-pick tickets, one for each family member, then gave them to his wife and went to lie down when he got home. She stayed up to watch the Wednesday night drawing, carefully writing down the numbers.
Later, Lisa came running to the bedroom to wake up John, and he groggily verified that the numbers matched.
The couple said they have barely slept over the past 48 hours. They appeared on the "Today" show earlier Friday and said they had a winning ticket.
The Robinsons told "Today" that their attorney advised them to go on national TV first as a way of controlling the story. Lawyers who have represented lottery winners in the past said jackpot winners become targets when their identities are revealed and they are sometimes harassed or get talked into bad investments. Winners are also advised to talk seriously with experts in tax law, financial planning, privacy, security and other safeguards before they become known around the planet.
John said he was nervous after revealing his identity on the "Today" show.
"Actually, (I was) a little scared because I didn't know exactly what to do," he said. "I knew that I wanted to get an accountant. I knew that I wanted to get a lawyer and try to follow the procedures that they tell you to follow."
Tennessee lottery winners may not remain anonymous. Under the lottery policy, a person's name, home state and home town are a matter of public record.
Although the mainstream media has posted photos on the Internet of the Robinson's home, Lottery Post will refrain from doing that out of respect for the winners' privacy.
The other winning tickets from Wednesday's record Powerball jackpot were sold in Chino Hills, California, and Melbourne Beach, Florida. Those winners have not been announced yet.
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Why even play, good luck going back to work. Give your jobs up to people who need them and enjoy
whatever life you have left. If You still want to work then do something that will add more jobs for the
rest of us. I just don't get some people, do something with it or give it all away to you favorite charity.
I really hope they change their minds after a couple weeks because they will most likely have to go into
hiding to get away from everyone asking for money.
RL
they are going back to work? why did they bother to play a lottery of this magnitude? they are going to be despised by their co-workers. those are 2 jobs that someone who needs them could have. hopefully their employers will show them the door on monday. these people are nuts personified. i hope they are hounded, harrassed, vilified every day. no one can defend their decision.
This. I shake my head at people who say this nonsense. I agree with you, why are they even playing? It seems like everyone who wins wants all of america to believe that the money will not change them and they will remain normal. It sounds good to say but not realistic. I personally feel if you're not ready for the attention and harassment you're going to get then don't play.
I was screaming at the computer when I watched the TODAY interview and the wife said she was headed back to work. Work is the LAST thing they need to be doing with this amount of money. They will learn VERY quickly that 'they can't return to work' and it has already started with the press going to her work.
Whats the over/under for when they bail on work and enjoy the money?
I got Tuesday!
it's going to be monday. no way can wherever they work accept them back. it will be way too distracting for the business to operate with these 2 clowns employed there. maybe the dog or daughter can find work but i doubt it.
I really hope they change their minds after a couple weeks because they will most likely have to go into
hiding to get away from everyone asking for money.
Lawyer could have done a trust or something not just throw them to the wolves like he did.
Although I wish them well, here's what they don't know but will soon learn;
It's hard for the super wealthy to know who their real friends are. All kinds of folks hit on you for money and deliver false pretenses on a regular basis. Charities hit you up like you were the prettiest girl at a ball otherwise filled with horny young males. 'Relatives' you never had approach you from nowhere. Old school non-chums want to reacquaint.
There is an old saying that the rich person in any family is despised. Many relatives don't understand why the wealth of one family member can't easily be shared to solve all their problems. It doesn't matter how much you do or don't give people, it won't be enough. G5
they are all so overweight so maybe they could start a diet workshop or gym business. even the dog is overweight.
Lisa asked the press to stop visiting her place of employment — a doctor's office.
Maybe in her excitement she isn't looking at the big picture. If she does go back to work, every day she'll have to deal with probably hundreds of people looking for handouts.
he's a warehouse supervisor. imagine working under him and taking orders from someone with 300 million in his pocket. i couldn't. i'd want to put arsenic in his lunch. she works for a dermatology doctor. i hope people call up and make appointments and then not show up resulting in her getting shown the door. if i hit the lottery the first thing i would do is buy both business's and can both their fat behinds.
Congrats to John and Lisa Robinson on their Power Ball win. I don't blame Lisa for asking the press not to come where she work. She work in a Doctors Office. The other people in her office are co- workers & ill patients that don't need the extra drama.
i agree. except for the congrats part. one way to get rid of the drama would be to get rid of her which i'm sure they will.
Yes these winners are moronic wanting to go back to work.
I can think of about 10,000,000 other things I'd rather do with my life than work if I won a jackpot. I'd have to get to work fixing my problems which I'd estimate would take two years, but once I was done with that, it would be time to have fun.
I think being incredibly dumb is a requirement to win & that's probably why I'm not winning.
I can't imagine what it must be like, but don't be so hard on them--no sleep, overwhelmed with the attention and the idea that they are super rich, small town folk....
I mean, the jealousy I can feel just from these posts, just imagine what it will be like at work for them. Can't blame them, they just wanted more money but not for their lives to change but, ain't gonna happen.
I work at home now out of necessity, but I tried imagining working at my old job (long-term health care) after I had won---lol, it would be crazy--I mean, the respiratory therapy company I used to work for has an ESOP (employee owned company stock) Know how much the ESOP fund has? About $80 million lol, I would have had enough to buy out the company after winning! and had plenty left over :)
Huge jackpots and wealth definitely comes with a price...they will not only have to quit work, but probably move out of town--so much for not wanting to buy a new house.
go back to work??????????????????????????? give me a break they will b working for nothing
with their tax bracket their paycheck will end up at about .11 cents a week take home.
they could never hide they have a charitible target on thier back
These 2 morons out to just give the money to charity and go back to work. WHAT A COUPLE OF FOOLS!!!! enjoy your life you idiots !!!
Charities hit you up like you were the prettiest girl at a ball otherwise filled with horny young males.
"Requests for donations must go through my financial advisor. Contact me directly again, and I blacklist your organization. There is no shortage of worthy causes in this world, and I prefer to donate to people who don't annoy me."
'Relatives' you never had approach you from nowhere.
This is the easy one. One of my hobbies is genealogy.
Old school non-chums want to reacquaint.
"If you weren't in my social circle then, you aren't now."
The lawyer told them to go on TV cause he wanted to be in the picture also...he wants a piece of the pie also...
in all fairness they are not giving "all" the money to charity. just to st. judes so far. the town they intend to stay in is hinting about needing new fire equipment. but no commitment on that from them yet. but they may. all they had to do was say they want to continue working but not for someone else. buy a business that is struggling and pump some of the money into it to keep others employed would have better than saying their staying at their previous jobs.
A big misconception here is that people are not going to hear her plea to be left alone. They have already
made some of the biggest mistakes that a new winner can make. They no doubt have hearts in the right
place but that won't do them any good in the real world. Money may not change them but you can bet it will
have an effect on everyone they already know and those who they will be meeting very soon.
RL
This shows that even professionals such as Lawyers are ignorant of the Lottery. They have no idea how much their clients lives will be changed. These two lucky people needed a top-flight lawyer who works with high net worth clients every day.
If they keep this attorney then they should hire a CFP, Certified Financial Planner who also can give them referrals to other professionals they now need.
I agree, they need a tax lawyer soon. They can discuss quarterly tax payments.
A CPA, Certified Public Accountant could answer any questions that the tax lawyer cannot answer.
Therapy to talk about the massive change in their lives. Marriage therapy for the culture shock they will live through.
This family will soon be residing in a gated community with security. They will have new friends who are as rich as they are.
no doubt they will come to their senses and move. but she says she doesn't want to clean a bigger house. these two are not the brightest bulbs in tenn and their lawyer should be disbarred for giving them bad advice.
They will hire maids, grounds keepers, pool service, etc.. Their new neighbors can fill them in on what they will need. Chef, personal trainers, and on and on...
Anyone who has ever been faced with greed will tell you it's an ugly monster. It can possess people who
were completely normal before. It's a evil spirit just waiting for someone to allow it room to operate. I
purchased 2 power-ball tickets during the big JP and was a bit afraid I might win. Next time I won't even
play. I don't want that kind of money, I like my life.
RL
The couple does sound a tad naive. Their comment re: going back to work - to me just sounded like they hadn't really thought about it and definitely had not been given direction as how to handle media questions. Shame on their lawyer.
Professional and Lawyer do not necessarily/frequently go together. Just because you scored well on the LSAT, sat through 3 years of classes, and tested well enough on the Bar - that only makes you Bar certified. It does not make you a professional or even a capable lawyer.
The joke that passes around every now and again: The law student who got A's is called "law professor", B's is called "judge", C's is called "lawyer". Just because you can add JD or esq to your name as title does NOT make you a good lawyer.
and it sounds as though they did NOT get a good one. Go on national T.V.? To let everyone in the US know your face - so there is no where you can go without many potentially knowing who you are? Seriously?
i'm sure they will have no choice but to move. not so sure rich and or professional people in a gated community will warm up and accept them. certainly won't socialize with them. their only option would be start their own smaller gated community in a cul-de-sac and fill it with their relatives. sort of a world among themselves. they'd have to spend a fortune (not an issue) and put a high fence around it with a security shack and gate manned 24 hours a day. that might work.
I did not watch them on TV but wanted to ask, did they give out their phone # or email address. In a small
town it should not be hard to find them or the dr's office where she works. The town is now a prospectors
dream. If I won I would set on the ticket for a couple months while I got a legal name change like James Jones
then take a apartment in a large city, buy a few disposable phones using a bank account that I would cancel
after filling them with minutes. Next I would claim the prize using a lawyer and trust. Next I would move again
and change my name back and transfer the trust to another trust. I would then return to my old life around my
friends. I would give myself a couple years to decide what would would work best for me and travel around as
I do now. No one would know or see any difference.
RL
If anyone ask about any big purchase, I just reply I cashed in a few 30 year old walmart stocks or maybe
some of my microsoft or maybe it was some of my IBM stocks from the 70's.
RL
Lol, your plan sounds good ( you haven't thought about this before have you? ) in "theory"....not sure if you could hide that easily though...maybe.
that's the polar opposite of what they did. even doing what you would do you would probably still be found out. but you would have tried at least. beginning to think that this lawyer intentionally exposed them to maximize his take. of course all lawyers are liars and them being somewhat less than intelligent allowed it. i feel bad for them actually. now they have to resort to drastic measures to live a somewhat normal life. certainly working as an employee for someone else is out of the question. i'm sure they will come around on that. they want to work so buy 3 or 4 acres of land that is inaccessible on 3 sides and build a main house in the back middle and and a couple of smaller ones on each side of them with a 24 hr manned security gate at the entrance. they want to work so grab a hammer and participate in the construction of this compound. of course it would be simpler just to move to hawaii or somewhere but they seem hell bent on staying in tenn.
I guess it shows us that you don't have to play lots of tickets to win big.
I hope they have a safe and "very happy" time with all that cash.
They could probably buy the town they live in if they decide to stay.
Awesome to say the least! Good for them!
If you won this JP, you'd have to be like Jason Bourne (Matt Damon)....sheez, these guys didn't think this one through at all.
Lots of jealousy in these posts as usual when someone else wins something big.
They can do what they want to do.
Give them some credit that they deserve. There will be more chances of big jackpots in the near future.
Cut them some slack. They are winners. We were not on this drawing.
not jealous, didn't even play it this time. they can do what they want except stay as "employees" for someone else. that is plain ridiculous. no one should "employ" them. don't know why they deserve "credit" for just being lucky. also they were ill advised to come out like that, so let the chips fall where they may. their lawyer should be drawn and quartered.
I think that some people have an idea of what they would do if they won and then they project that on other people who either win or their friends, family or even strangers who discuss and state what they would do and like everything in life most of us have our own individual opinions some of which seem absolutely absurd to others.
That is the beauty of living in our great country, we have options, we have choices and freedoms and of course the best thing is we have the lottery, right?
I don't agree that it's a good idea for them to go back to work but what will be, will be. If they go back to work and they are still enjoying their jobs and the people working there are treating them the same or well then good for them since those were their wishes. Yeah I find it hard to believe that will happen but who knows and does it ultimately effect YOUR life? If not then who really cares as it's their lives to live the way that they choose to however seemingly right, correct, just, stupid, insane, fantastic, perfect, unbelievable and the list of what could and could not happen goes on and on but ultimately it doesn't effect your life so best to just move on and hope you win then you can do EXACTLY what YOU feel is the "right way" or the "best way".
In the realm of being positive, let's hope that they find their way to a positive outcome and they don't do a David Edwards or a Marie Holmes who recently made the news once again ! Wishing them all the best!
agree they're entitled. only took exception to the back to work thing. don't compare marie holmes to david edwards. putting up large amounts of bail money which she has a good chance of getting back, sure he won't flee to edwards who only won 1/5 as much as marie and threw it away on lear jets and drugs etc. marie will be just fine with her 180 mil. just an odd situation with boyfriend.
I wish they'd be more considerate in the job aspect. Them being from a small town I'm sure jobs aren't that easy to come by, the husband being a supervisor I know someone could use that promotion. ..... on the other hand that could very well just have been what they expected people to want them to say and so they did without any intention of it being true. Either way I do hope they find a better lawyer, I understand the idea of let's just get it over and done with since it's not an anonymous state, however, the today show was way too much. Had they just come forward I think people who wanted to find them would but idk that many people would've actually gone out of their way, but going on national television for millions who could've cared less and all of a sudden see you and then think hope for their problems. ...... it was just very unnecessary.
That's right Stack- in fact that long line outside the dental office is not there to have cavities filled, they there to see her.
maximumfun, you are spot on correct. What the heck was their lawyer thinking? He wasn't or couldn't. I'd bet there are millions of people walking this earth that could have made the right call and not done The Today Show! I wouldn't say everyone knows their faces but I am pretty sure there are a LOT of people who know their faces such that pretty much where ever they go they will be recognized.
Regarding identiy, I think that Gloria McKenzie and her son were very smart, showing up at the lotto HQ without calling first, the HQ employees were rats for calling the media which is why they only have photos of them leaving the HQ and not arriving or entering. And of course Gloria and son chose to skip the Press Conference. Very smart! With a name like Gloria McKenzie she should be much less recognized being that their has to be a whole lot of women by that name around her age. If your name is not common then it's too your DISadvantage especially if you have unique identifying characteristics or look like a very well known person. Some people say to just change your name but I believe that most jurisdictions require you publish a name change publicly (like in the local newspaper). Also note that Gloria McKenzie purchased a home in a Gated Community following her win and lives with her son (who got half the money) and his boyfriend.
Something fishy about this. First thing they do is go super-public on TV ??? As they want everyone to know them.
That's aside from the fact that they are from the county where there was a Powerball rigging not too long ago.
Really? The only lotto scandal of recent that I heard about was the game Hot Lotto with some dude named Tipton being the crook. Was there a Powerball scandal that I missed? If so please reply with some search terms (words) since you cannot post a link being that you're new to LP (Lottery Post). Thanks ahead of time.