llPa1nll Posted March 8, 2007 Posted March 8, 2007 By Dorie Turner, Associated Press | March 8, 2007 DALTON, Ga. -- A Georgia truck driver stepped forward yesterday to claim half of a $390 million jackpot, the richest lottery prize in US history. "I'm going to do a lot of fishing," said Ed Nabors, 52, of Rocky Face, Ga., about 90 miles north of Atlanta. The other winning ticket in Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing was sold at a liquor store in New Jersey, and the holder did not immediately come forward. Nabors bought his ticket when he stopped in for his weekly cup of coffee at a convenience store in Dalton -- the self-proclaimed "Carpet Capital of the World" -- near a carpet mill run by his employer, Mohawk Industries. He said he didn't learn he had won until 9 a.m. -- about 10 hours after the numbers were announced -- when his co-workers told them that someone bought the winning ticket in Dalton. "I'm still numb," he said. He elected to take his winnings in a lump sum instead of annual installments, and will get $116.5 million before taxes, or more than $80 million after. Nabors said he wants to buy a house for his daughter, who has wanted to move out of her mobile home for a long time, and plans to keep working -- "at least two more days." Nabors's mother, Doris, said the whole family was in shock. "We just can't believe it. He was shaking so hard they sent him home from work," she said from the door of the rural home she shares with her son. An American flag waved over a patch of daffodils, and a small camper and fishing boat were parked outside. The winning numbers were announced in New York City's Times Square, where the 12 participating Mega Millions states agreed to move the drawing from Atlanta after the jackpot hit $355 million. Even though the temperature was just 16 degrees, a few hopefuls showed up to watch the drawing. The winning numbers were 16-22-29-39-42, with the Mega Ball 20. The odds of hitting the winning combination: 1 in 176 million. The previous largest lottery jackpot in the United States was $365 million in 2006, when eight workers at a Nebraska meatpacking plant won the Powerball drawing. The Big Game, the forerunner of Mega Millions, paid out a $363 million jackpot in 2000. Mega Millions tickets are sold in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, and Washington state. Glad to see a Fisherman won. Tight lines... Quote
justfishin Posted March 8, 2007 Posted March 8, 2007 Thats fantastic. I can only imagine. I know one thing. You would see me up on a desk bent over with my pants around my knees pointing to my white butt to some of the Docs and the nursing director that try to make everyones life miserable where I work. ;D Quote
BucketmouthAngler13 Posted March 8, 2007 Posted March 8, 2007 Lotteries are tax on people who are bad at math. (Although, I wouldn't mind 80 million dollars) I heard in NYC they where selling one million Mega-Millions tickets every hour. Quote
Hale Posted March 8, 2007 Posted March 8, 2007 I had the news on this afternoon (ambient background noise) and they asked him what he will spend his money on...He told them he already bought a new bass boat! Quote
Fishin Phil Posted March 9, 2007 Posted March 9, 2007 I heard that too about the bass boat. I would have done the same thing. Quote
Tom Bass Posted March 9, 2007 Posted March 9, 2007 You can't win if you don't play. If you don't play you have no say....kind of like voting Only in this regard if you win you get taxed more but you don't mind so much..... Quote
Super User Redlinerobert Posted March 9, 2007 Super User Posted March 9, 2007 Wow. What a blessing for him and his family. Quote
Super User Long Mike Posted March 9, 2007 Super User Posted March 9, 2007 The sad thing is that this stupid man went public about his winnings, instead of setting up a blind trust through his attorney. I suspect that is what the owner of the other half of the millions is doing at this moment. Because Mr. Stupids name has been made public, this poor man will be inundated with pleas from the needy, the not so needy, scammers, scammers, scammers, charities, neighbors, and family members whom he has never met, but who seem to appear out of the woodwork. All of them will have "desperate needs." Being a good-hearted blue collar worker, he will feel compassion and will begin to dole out obscene amounts of money to the "needy". Very quickly, he will have no other choice but to change his name and move to another city or state, because there will probably be about 500 people camped on his lawn at all times, begging for a hand-out. Unless he brings in a professional to manage his money, I suspect he will be broke within five years. At this point, I feel sorry for him. He's in for a very trying time. Quote
Super User burleytog Posted March 9, 2007 Super User Posted March 9, 2007 Wow. What a blessing for him and his family. More like a curse. Do some checking on previous big money winners. Very very few have been able to handle the pressure of having so much money and so many people trying to get their hands on a portion of that money. Quote
Fisher of Men Posted March 9, 2007 Posted March 9, 2007 The sad thing is that this stupid man went public about his winnings, instead of setting up a blind trust through his attorney. I suspect that is what the owner of the other half of the millions is doing at this moment. Because Mr. Stupids name has been made public, this poor man will be inundated with pleas from the needy, the not so needy, scammers, scammers, scammers, charities, neighbors, and family members whom he has never met, but who seem to appear out of the woodwork. All of them will have "desperate needs." Being a good-hearted blue collar worker, he will feel compassion and will begin to dole out obscene amounts of money to the "needy". Very quickly, he will have no other choice but to change his name and move to another city or state, because there will probably be about 500 people camped on his lawn at all times, begging for a hand-out. Unless he brings in a professional to manage his money, I suspect he will be broke within five years. At this point, I feel sorry for him. He's in for a very trying time. The fact that he's a "good-hearted blue collar worker" does not make him stupid. He's just a victim of the game. I'm sure some publicity is required of him by the lottery company. I do agree that many bad things will follow. A visiting pastor of ours made reference to a particular former lottery winner who went through alot after he won. His marriage fell apart, he had a grandchild kidnapped and later murdered, and his house was broken into numerous times all because he "fell into money". It's funny how the other megarich people in this world don't have to deal with this type of stuff. I guess it's because they are use to it and have taken necessary actions to prevent these problems. Quote
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