Powerball winner William ten Broeke, 46, just deposited the largest check of his life into his bank account because of a gentle nudge from his better half.
He was shopping at the Publix in Brookhaven when his wife posed a life-altering question.
"Aren't you going to get a ticket?" Heather ten Broeke, 38, asked.
Without that reminder, William ten Broeke said he would have forgotten to purchase the ticket, which turned out to be worth $246.8 million.
The ten Broekes, who have been married five years and have one child, claimed their prize Monday at Georgia Lottery headquarters, officials said in a news release. The couple selected the cash option, which earned them $165.6 million before taxes.
Days after the drawing, the ten Broekes saw news reports that a winning ticket purchased in Brookhaven had not been claimed. The winning numbers from the Sept. 17 drawing were 9, 19, 51, 55 and 62, with Powerball number 14. The ten Broekes checked — and rechecked — the numbers on their ticket.
"We were shocked," said William ten Broeke. "We couldn't believe it. We checked the numbers numerous times."
Mr. ten Broeke works as a commercial credit officer. Mrs. Ten Broeke is a cardiac device specialist.
They plan to invest their winnings, travel, help family and donate to charity.
Publix Super Market #1363 in Brookhaven, 104 Town Blvd., Atlanta, sold the lucky Quik Pik ticket.
(Click to display full-size in gallery)
Thank to adamc224 for the tip.
Congrats to the winners!
How can someone not check their PB ticket the very next day? Good thing they didn't "laundry" it.
I started skimming through the article as I usually do and saw this:
"The ten Broekes, who have been married five years and have one child..."
I thought "How can there be ten of them when it's just the couple and an only child?"
Made me go back and re-read the rest of it.
I wonder how they pronounce their name? "Bro-ek-ee"? However they do, it's probably not pronounced "broke", not now.
Sounds like a Dutch name to me; like Brooklyn, Dutch for Broken Land.
Oh mike! LOL.
Congrats, life will never be the same
IKR.
I always try to remember(if i play 2.00 PowerBall the same evening or next morning.
but great to see when some win this game. I don't play it often.Better odds winning pick 4 etc. + 3pik
I'm with you. If I buy one, I check it as soon as the results are up and at the very latest the next morning.
Yeah, then I started getting suspicious about the name after going back to it and before scrolling down to see the
photo...I thought..Ben = Hundreds, ten = $$ too, broke = no money..I thought
did they make that up?? but
their picture is there with the gigantic check with the gigantic win. Can't hide now.
That is exactly what I thought...10 of them? 5 years?
WTG to them!!!
Congratulations William & Heather Spend Wisely
With a last name like Ten Brokes, it won't take long for hot sauce to find them.
Catchy phrase...especially hot sauce.
A friend in Atlanta said that is a rich area where the quik pik was sold; Buckhead.
William owes the wife Bigtime. What's the old saying " behind every successful man is a woman? "...or do I have it wrong? Nevertheless. .
noise-gate, You do have it correct.
I like "behind every successful woman is a man". LOL. That's because Mama is smarter than me.
Sometimes. LOL.
Did anyone else notice that the winning numbers included two birthday numbers and three numbers higher than 31?
Another Publix is in the news again with huge lottery winners. The ten Broekes, Gloria, and the record breaking power ball winners of Jan.13, 2016 $1.6 billion David Kaltschmidt and Maureen Smith from Melbourne Beach also in Florida like Gloria MacKenzie is.
I used LP Search box to find the names above.
That's a saying for certain in this case Music. There are lots of successful men who have broomed the Mrs for younger more attractive flesh after reaching certain heights.
Darn straight buckeye- regardless of one's upbringing, one should never mess w/ Motherhood.Carried you,fed you, cared for you through thick and thin * there are exceptions, but overall Mother is always worth her weight in Gold & more...so to speak.Oh yeah Mother is smarter than us, consider that she could have said "No hun, not tonight & your ugly sibling could have made a dash for it the next time out."
*I think you get my drift
A mighty nice payday!
Behind every successful man, is a woman who is there to catch him when he falls.
I bet she will never stop reminding him that if not for her he wouldn't have purchased the ticket!
"I bet she will never stop reminding him..." LOL! How very true.
Very true, I don't think in this case He will have to ever be reminded that if not for her they wouldn't have all that money.
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BIG WIN, ENJOY, HAVE FUN & BE SAFE!
Congratulations to this couple. If the Powerball number isn't 14, then the Powerball Jackpot would've rolled.
Congrats to the Georgia couple the state hasn't won a Powerball in like 20 years. Hopefully Mr. ten Broeke doesn't pull a Brad Pitt if he doesn't plan to split that big fortune.
According to LinkedIn, William Tenbroeke of Atlanta, GA works as vice-president of Sun Trust Bank, inc
I guess, this is one of those stories when riches become richer.
Anyway, congrats to the winners!
I'm so accustom to loosing that I don't even check the ticket to days later.??
Good for them, I , too could use a couple hundred million dollars right now.
I always want to know if winning numbers were QP or hand picked and how many lines did they purchase for that drawing at that vendor. Sometimes they appear to be answering those questions but they are unclear and deceptive.
I get the same impression. I think many of the winners purchase multiple tickets but conveniently claim the winner is all they bought.