Lottery winner ‘paralysed’ after scooping jackpot
Wednesday February 23rd 2011A Missouri lottery player who found he’d become $200,000 richer after playing Powerball last week, said he was "paralysed" by the shock. But Jerry McDonald from Wappapello soon recovered when he began to consider all the things he’d be able to do with the money.
The former electrician bought a Quick Pick Powerball lottery ticket from the Wappapello gun store for the February 16 draw, and managed to match the five main numbers. He was just one number away from taking home the $101million jackpot.
He went to check the numbers the following day at a local store belonging to a friend and discovered he’d won big.
The father of four said: "I couldn’t believe that it was $200,000. I double checked it. I told the guy, Leonard, who’s the owner of the store, I told him, ‘There’s something wrong with this machine. It keeps telling me there’s $200,000.’”
But sure enough, Mr McDonald had managed to pick a winning set of numbers. He said he’s had a great time since retiring from his job as an electrician in 2000, but that he’ll now simply "have a better time!"