The small-town Tennessee couple that bought one of three magic tickets splitting the world-record $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot says they don’t plan to quit their jobs or buy a new house.
Their daughter, however, wants a horse.
After appearing on national television, John Robinson and wife Lisa went to the Tennessee lottery headquarters in Nashville on Friday to have their winning ticket verified by lottery officials. The couple’s lump sum payout is about $327 million after buying the ticket for Wednesday night’s drawing at a grocery store in their west Tennessee hometown of Munford, population 6,000. Two other winning tickets were bought in California and Florida.
At a news conference Friday, the Robinsons said they won’t stop working and won’t make any wild purchases. They’ll pay off their mortgage and their daughter’s student loans, but have no desire to move from their gray, one-story house in a close-knit community into a luxurious compound somewhere.
Lisa works at a dermatologist’s office. John is a warehouse supervisor. Both plan to return to work Monday, they said. Friends and neighbors say the Robinsons are a hard-working, responsible family with the ability to humbly deal with their new fortune. (continue reading)