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PORTER COUNTY CO-WORKERS SNAG $2 MILLION POWERBALL PRIZE
August 1, 2012
Mondays can be such a drag. But, for 29 co-workers at Trailer Transit Inc. in Porter, Ind., this past Monday was the best ever. The group of co-workers showed up for work Monday with some extra pep in their step after winning $2 million in Saturday’s Powerball drawing.
“It was the best Monday morning the company’s ever had,” said Mike Jones of Valparaiso, President of Trailer Transit Inc.
Jones was accompanied by company Vice President Dave Wilcoxson of Schererville and part-time maintenance worker, Al Jones of Chesterton, as the trio claimed the prize on behalf of the group, Transit 29, at Hoosier Lottery Headquarters in Indianapolis today.
Al Jones purchased the group’s lucky ticket at Pat’s Liquors at 1 W. U.S. Hwy 20 in Porter. It was his wife that checked the numbers and discovered the group’s win Sunday morning. Al immediately called another member of the group and from there the good news spread throughout the company.
“Everybody’s been smiling and happy,” said Wilcoxson.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Mike Jones. “You almost think it’s too good to be true!”
But it is true. Each winner received $68,695 before taxes. The workers’ plans for making the most of their good fortune vary. One lucky winner hopes to make a down payment on a house. Another hopes to buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. A few of the winners plan to pay down their mortgages.
One thing the whole group is definitely going to do is keep playing Powerball - and keep adding Power Play, an option that doubled their money for an extra $1. The standard prize for matching the first five numbers, but not the Powerball number, is $1 million. Because the group added Power Play to their ticket for an extra buck, their prize doubled to $2 million.
The Transit 29 has played Powerball together as a group for about five years. They all hail from Lake, LaPorte or Porter counties. Since their win on Monday, the group has expanded. A handful of co-workers who missed out on the group’s win have decided to jump in and try their hand going forward.
The July 28 Powerball numbers were: 5-6-13-36-50 PB:13. No player nationwide won that jackpot, so an estimated $158 million is up for grabs in Powerball tonight.
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