Arizona Lottery winner comes forward
Tuesday December 14th 2010The winner of the Powerball lottery jackpot on December 1 has come forward to claim their $95.3million prize. Shortly after the draw it was announced that the winning ticket had been purchased in a Safeway grocery store in Fort Mohave, but it wasn’t until yesterday that Sheila Verke revealed herself as the new multi-millionaire.
The 64-year-old substitute teacher, who lives in Fort Mohave, has played the same numbers whenever she has bought lotto tickets for the past six years. And as no one else managed to match all the numbers in the first draw of the month, Ms Verke walked away with the whole jackpot.
According to a report by Reuters, Ms Verke turned up for a press conference accompanied by her friends and financial advisers. She announced that she has decided to take the cash lump sum of just under $50million.
Speaking to reporters, she said: “It's going to change my life and the life of my children, my grandchildren and my friends.”
Ms Verke plans to buy a motorhome and travel around America.
The Safeway store where the winning lottery ticket was purchased will get a commission of $25,000, $5,000 of which is going to be donated to a local children’s group, according to a spokesperson for the retailer.