Powerball:

The first set of winners have been announced for the $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot!

John and Lisa Robinson, from Tennessee have won their share of the enormous prize, worth $528.8 million, Lisa says this came as a complete surprise as they were only hoping for perhaps a small slice of the cake. They plan on returning to work as this is all they’ve done all their lives, and haven’t thought of anything in particular to splash out their money on, apart from paying off their mortgage and their daughter’s student loans.

John, the husband, isn’t very keen on moving into a large mansion as “you’ll have to clean it” The tickets were bought by him at his wife’s request, even though he wasn’t feeling very well. Lisa stayed awake to check the figures, and once the realization hit, they knew this was the turning point of their lives.

Over the next 48 hours they were barely able to sleep, the couple decided their next move was to go on the “Today” show as this was advised by their attorney in order to have control over how their identities were portrayed when the news went public. Often the winners of such large sums are harassed, stalked and talked into putting their money into bad investments. This is why they are advised to seek financial support as soon as possible such as accountants, privacy, security etc.

The law for Tennessee lottery winners requires their identity, home state and town to be public knowledge, they are unable to remain anonymous. John and Lisa have opted to receive their winnings as a lump sum of $372,835,000 rather than small constant payments due to the fact, “they are not guaranteed tomorrow”. There are 2 more winning tickets sold in Melbourne Beach, Florida and Chino Hills, California, these winners have not been confirmed yet.