27-year-old is now a Powerball millionaire
RALEIGH, N.C. — Jeff Wilson, 27, has his "lottery freak" dad to thank for helping him win the $88 million Powerball. Wilson met the media Tuesday and talked about his winnings.
"I don't really know what to say. Does anybody have any questions?" he asked reporters as he timidly stepped in front of the cameras. "I don't know if I'm gonna wake up in a minute and it's gonna be a dream."
Wilson's dad, Bill Wilson, purchased the ticket at a gas station in Kings Mountain and was the only winner in Saturday's drawing. The ticket is worth $88 million. Jeff Wilson chose to take a lump-sum payment worth about $42 million. After taxes, he will get about $29 million.
While Jeff Wilson was shy and reserved in front of the cameras, his dad was outgoing and entertained the audience.
"I'm a lottery freak. See, I already have tomorrow night's drawing. Maybe I'll be back!" Bill Wilson said, holding up his tickets. "I told everybody for years I was going to hit it. Nobody ever believed me. And it worked out."
After buying the tickets Saturday night, "right before the deadline," Bill Wilson let his family members each pick one. Jeff Wilson picked the winning numbers, which his dad had played before.
When asked what he planned to do with the money, Jeff Wilson said he wasn't sure, then rattled off a couple ideas: go on a vacation, share some with his family and possibly donate to a children's hospital.
"My dad's the one that bought the ticket, so I guess I gotta share with him," he said with a laugh.
Jeff Wilson said he's not concerned about old acquaintances asking him for money.
"I know how to change my phone number and move," he said with a smile.
Jeff Wilson previously worked as a real estate broker. He has been accepted and still plans to attend graduate school in August. He did not want to identify the school.
"I need to find a job," he said.
Bill Wilson said he recently retired from his job at Steve White Motors in Hickory. He says he has one more week on the job before he officially leaves.
He also thanked North Carolina lawmakers for approving the lottery.
(Click for full-size; opens in new window)Jeff Wilson and his dad, Bill Wilson
(Click for full-size; opens in new window)Jeff Wilson, 27-year-old Powerball millionaire.
(Click for full-size; opens in new window)Bill Wilson, self-described 'lottery freak' who bought the winning ticket.
(Click for full-size; opens in new window)Bill Wilson entertains the reporters, while Jeff Wilson holds his big check.
Congratulations to the lucky winner!
Living in NC, this is only the 2nd time we've won Powerball in the 3 years we've had the lottery.
So what I'm saying is.... "it's about TIME!!"
How did it go from 88 million almost 100 million to 29 million what kind of crap is that...The USA takes too much taxes...
I am not going to lie to you millions are powerful we can do plenty of things with it but he needs to go and lose some weight...His job that he wants to get needs to be the gym...Hit the gym and then help push this planet forward...
i hate when people that win large amount try to take that money for themselves, instead of finding a way to push this world forward or help...
What's the point of winning if the state is taking 13 million away from you...And leaving you only with 29 million...and then you have to split it with your dad...
young men in their 20's hitting jackpots quite alot nowadays. I'm yet to see any 20 something women hitting it but I know their turn is coming.
Powerball has always had lower cash payouts then Mega Millions... if you look at a similar Mega Millions payout at the same amount, it's well over 10-20m more.
The current MM payout at 68m Lotto would put me at roughly 29m after taxes... that's 20m less, and 4 years less on the annuity if I took that (26 years for MegaMillions, 30 for Powerball).
You'd think Powerball, having more then twice the number of states, would have greater cash payouts... wouldn't you?
Im 21 yrs old and I can't wait til I win, Call me crazy but Im gonna buy 500 tickets tonite or tomorrow and pray that I win and If i don't I'll try it once more this sat. coming! I don't need 200 100 or even 50 million, I'll take the lowest jackpot and make it work for me for the rest of my life while helping others along the way. And I definitely wouldn't mind being the 1st person on lottery post to say I hit the jackpot!
Oh and if that 500 doesn't work Im just gonna go ALL OUT and Drop 3grand and Cross my fingers X- > really hope it doesn't have to come to that though.
you know it's funny... I don't think I ever read a lottery story where somebody claimed they won by buying a hundred tickets.
It's always stories of people who buy like 1-10. Or randomly buy one in order to try at that big 100+m jackpot.
...me, personally, I scale up the #s of tickets I pick up depending on how big the jackpot is... never over 10 though. Most I've won was on a birthday ticket: $150. i blogged about it here actually :-)
Hey if you do that you should definitely wheel your numbers to get the higher odds of winning.
YoungNRich good luck and keep the positive attitude your whole life..We are all pulling for you to win big while your young..
You must not do a lot of reading about lottery winners. The largest ever single PowerBall jackpot was won by a construction company owner, Jack Whittaker of West Virginia who bought 100 tickets. The largest jackpot ever (BigGame which became MegaMillions) was won by two guys, one in Illinois and the other in Michigan. The guy in Michigan who owned a swimming pool construction company, claimed he bought a hot dog at a service station, only had a $100 bill so he use it to pay for his hot dog and asked for his change in BigGame lottery tickets.
Congrats to him
I stand corrected?
haha
I do actually read alot about it... but you can't keep track of them all. I remember the Whittaker story only because of the complete level of disgust the story continued to bring as he bottomed out and it got worse.
Wheeling doesn't improve your odds of winning, it just guarantees a minimum win if all the winning numbers are in the pool of numbers that you wheeled. For example, you can wheel all 49 numbers of a 6/49 game in 163 lines and be guaranteed a match 3 which in Ohio pays $2, but your odds of winning the jackpot would be the same if you bought 163 randomly picked combinations.
Congrats to the family!
WOW. Neat story....It must be fun sharing a jackpot with someone else who enjoys playing the lottery. The dad sounds like a really good guy. I like how he already has tickets for the next drawing....Going to continue to enjoy playing. The son sounds like he has his head on straight changing his phone number and continuing school. Hopefully he will remember to share a good portion with his DAD...... He must really love real estate to want a job after winning $88 million...I understand wanting to have something usefull to contribute but feel he shouldn't try and look for a job when others are out of work and desperate for a pay check. Start your own company guy or invest in some land leave the jobs to us schmoes who don't have millions in our bank accounts...............GOOD LUCK TO THE BOTH OF THEM!
Hopefully it will be my turn next!!!! Although you will never see me at a news conference or on a tv news interview....Just some annonymous Powerball or MegaMillions jackpot claimed by a lawyer........While I'm at the Porsche dealership trying to decide on which color car I want!!!
Congratulations to the winner and his family!! Hope they all have a very bright future!!
u r hating and do u have a mil to talk about shoot i would be happy with 29 mil i would have only spent a 1.00
29 million will buy a lot of big macs ..hahahahaha
This just proves that the movie "Swordfish" with John Travolta was correct that movie was about the lottery & the Stock Market...
WOW! very happy for him i love when good things happen for ppl especially young ppl. Spend wisely my friend.
Congrats to the winner.
I'm so jealous. I was just in NC last month and bought some tickets for me and for some of my lotto pools. Oh well I've got up to 18 more drawings left on MM and PB in the states I played while on vacation. I just know my turn at winning is coming.
Congrats Mr Jeff Wilson to you and your family! You're already following your dream. Now you don't have to worry about bills while you finish your formal education. Thanks for thinking about charitable donations also! Dad was right that he'd win someday as he picked the numbers. I still debate myself occasionally on whether Quikpiks are the way to go.
I think someone from PA should win ....................
Me !!!!!!!!
The only thing that bothers me about this is.... well, they play the lottery all the time, so wouldn't you think they would find a way to be anonymous? I know, I know, NC doesn't allow that, BUT if you do a trust or something similar, you can have your cake and eat it too.
Unfortunately, I see troubles ahead for that family if the son is already mentioning that he HAS to give some money to his father and family. Yes, he's joking...but there may be something underlying it. I really hope not.
I really do wish them all the best!
"I know how to change my phone number and move," he said with a smile.Jeff Wilson previously worked as a real estate broker. He has been accepted and still plans to attend graduate school in August. He did not want to identify the school."
WTG! Very smart winner.
"I don't think I ever read a lottery story where somebody claimed they won by buying a hundred tickets."
Jack Whittaker bought 115 tickets. Most people buy only a few so although the odds are better for someone with 100+, it will be common for winners to have bought only a few. i.e. say 10 people bought $10 worth and 1 person bought $100 worth, if the winner is among them, there is an even chance for either one of the 10 $10 buyers or the one $100 buyer.
The thing that grabs me, is, DID HE play his own numbers? No QP? Sounds like it!
Wonder if he used an algorithm or just favorite numbers?
Also, if someone loves playing Lottery then wins 88M then doesn't the Lottery become a bit boring after that?