Railroad engineer in Michigan claims $337 million Powerball jackpot
By Ron Recinto | The Sideshow – 10 hrs ago
A former railroad engineer from Lapeer, Michigan, is the winner of the $337 million Powerball jackpot, the third-largest Powerball prize in history.
Donald Lawson claimed the prize today at Michigan Lottery offices in Lansing.
Lawson has elected to take a one-time cash award of $224.66 million.
"I am an alone person and now I'm in this chaos," he said as he claimed the prize.
Lawson said after he won he called his mom and fibbed and said he won $224,000 in the lottery, and she was surprised. Then he confessed that he actually won $224 million, and people started coming over to his house, he said.
Donald Lawson won the $337 million Powerball jackpot. (WXYZ-TV)
Donald Lawson won the $337 million Powerball jackpot. (WXYZ-TV)
He said during the news conference today that he had quit his job as an engineer with a railroad company a few weeks ago, as he was scheduled to work the midnight shift. Lawson, who says he frequently plays the lottery, hand-picked four sets of numbers, one of which was the exact match. He is originally from Arkansas.
When asked if he was going to buy a new house, Lawson replied, "My living situation will improve."
He also told ABC News that he told his relatives they could retire, too. "Everybody that's related to me, as far as my whole family, was told to retire and they had no problem with that," Lawson said.
It's the largest jackpot in Michigan's lottery history, and the the third-largest Powerball jackpot ever.
Lawson bought the winning ticket at a Sunoco gas station and convenience store in Lapeer, about 60 miles north of Detroit.
His ticket was the only one in the country that matched five numbers and the Powerball number in the Aug. 15 drawing.
The $337 million ticket is the second Powerball jackpot ticket won in Michigan, said the Michigan Lottery in a news release. The first winning ticket, worth $128.6 million, was claimed by Team Victory of southeast Michigan on Nov. 12, 2010.
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