Him: 'I think this one's the winner.' Her: 'Yeah, right.'
Minnesota couple discovers they're the new Powerball millionaires

Pioneer Press
By Richard Chin
05/07/2008

Waseca couple Paul and Sue Rosenau attended the first news conference of their lives Tuesday, accompanied by their first entourage, including an accountant, lawyer and bodyguard. That's what happens when you hit the largest Powerball jackpot ever won in Minnesota.

The big fake check at the Minnesota State Lottery presentation said $180.1 million, although the couple opted to take the $88 million cash option — $59.6 million after taxes — instead of the $180.1 million 30-year annuity payment.

Here's what the Rosenaus, both 54, had to say to the usual array of questions tossed at overnight millionaires.

How they got the winner:

"I once in a while will buy a ticket," said Paul Rosenau, who bought the winner with a Quick Pick number of 2-28-36-42-46, plus the Powerball number 40, on Friday at a Hy-Vee Gas in Faribault. The couple's accountant, Dale DeRaad, said Rosenau likes to fill up there because they have a coupon deal on Fridays.

How they learned they might have won:

The couple were in their pajamas watching the Sunday night news when the winning ticket number was announced.

"I said, 'Oh, my gosh,' " Rosenau said. "I think this one's the winner. She said, 'Oh, yeah, right,' because I've done that before."

How they convinced themselves they had won:

They dressed and went to Sue Rosenau's office to check the number on the Internet. They don't have online access at home. "Now we might get it," Paul Rosenau said.

Sue Rosenau found the Web site and read off the numbers.

"She said, 'Oh, my gosh,' but not in those words," he said.

They didn't sleep that night. Monday, Rosenau checked the numbers in the newspaper. He had a glass of orange juice and checked the number again. He had a piece of toast and checked once more.

"It kind of went like that for about an hour," he said.

Then he called his accountant. "I said, 'Dale, I've got a problem. It's not a bad problem, but I've a got a problem, and I need your help.' "

He showed the accountant the newspaper and ticket.

"I said, 'If you notice, those two numbers seem to match, and I don't know what to do.' "

What were they doing for a living and will they keep on doing it:

They plan to keep working, Paul as a heavy equipment operator for BCM Grading and Excavating Co. in Faribault, and Sue as a project and communications assistant for Agricultural Utilization Research Institute in Waseca.

"I love what I do," Paul Rosenau said.

What will they do with the money:

They're still trying to decide. DeRaad said the couple probably will set up some sort of foundation.

"We don't need a lot," Paul Rosenau said.

They don't plan

"We're pretty close" to owning their home, he said. "I think we can pay it off."

DeRaad said the couple got their phone number unlisted and plan to be out of town for a few weeks. "People are going to come out of the woodwork," De-Raad said.

Paul Rosenau said he'll still mow his lawn. He said the couple takes vacations in Mexico because it's inexpensive.

"We see what other people have," he said. "For all the complaining people in the United States do, they should keep their mouth shut."

He said his wife has never been to Hawaii. "I've got a feeling we may go," he said.

The couple have three adult children and a grandchild who was born April 28.

"It's been a wild week," Sue Rosenau said.

Another grandchild died at age 2 of Krabbe disease, a rare inherited degenerative disorder. She died five years ago on the same date the Rosenaus won the lottery.

"We believe in a little divine intervention," Sue Rosenau said.

Do they think the money will change their lives:

"We hope it doesn't. We like it the way it is," said Paul Rosenau, as he started to tear up with emotion. "Money is probably not as important as friendship and helping others."

$13 MILLION LOTTO TEXAS SOLD IN PHARR CLAIMED

Martinez-Sanchez & Associates, Ltd., through its general partner Martinez-Sanchez, Management, LLC, M. Martinez Sanchez, manager, has claimed the $13 million Lotto Texas jackpot from the drawing on March 29.

The ticket was sold in Pharr.

Purchased with the Cash Value Option, the ticket provided the winner a one-time lump sum payment of $8,644,766, before taxes.

The numbers drawn were 11, 22, 40, 27, 33, 2.

The ticket was bought at the Stripes located at 8001 South Jackson in Pharr.

The retailer is eligible to receive a bonus of $130,000, which is one percent of the advertised jackpot for this drawing.
The winner requested minimum publicity.

Mega Millions winner says he's having an out of body experience

Detroit Free Press
By CHRIS CHRISTOFF
April 3, 2008

David Sneath of Livonia said he still hadn’t returned to Earth Thursday, after winning the $136 million Mega Millions jackpot on Tuesday -- April Fools' Day and his 60th birthday.

“I’m having an out of body experience,” he told reporters, as he met with state lottery commissioner Scott Bowen. Sneath will take a lump sum payment of about $59 million after taxes, instead of the entire jackpot over 20 years. It’s Michigan’s third largest lottery jackpot ever.

Sneath, a jocular hi-lo driver, had his son buy $15 worth of Mega Millions tickets using numbers Sneath picked at random. The tickets were purchased at a Mobil gas station on the corner of Joy and Inkster roads in Redford Township. Sneath read his winning numbers Wednesday in a newspaper at a Ford Motor Co. parts warehouse in Brownstown Township, where he’s worked 34 years.

“I yelled out, ‘I’m a winner, I won the lotto,’ ” Senath said. “I couldn’t believe it. I went to my locker, I yelled to my boss, ‘Hey, I’m done, I’m outta here.' ”

Sneath said he’s begun the paperwork for retirement.

He said he’ll give $1 million cash to each of four work buddies who usually pooled $30 among them each week for lottery tickers. This time, Sneath bought his tickets alone, but said he wants to share his luck with his four friends.

His only other immediate plan is to buy a cottage on Mullett Lake near Cheboygan in northern Michigan, and a fishing boat. Maybe a couple boats.

“I like to fish,” he said.

TOLBERT FAMILY TRUST CLAIMS SHARE
OF $28 MILLION LOTTO TEXAS JACKPOT PRIZE

The Tolbert Family Trust, Bobby Joe Tolbert, Trustee, of Houston, has claimed one half of the $28 million Lotto Texas jackpot for the drawing on February 23, 2008.

The prize amount is $14.3 million before taxes and will be paid out through the annuity option. This means the Tolbert Family Trust will receive 25 annual payments of $560,000 beginning with an initial payment of $883,430.98.

“I first thought my Lotto numbers were a computer misprint, so I didn’t get excited,” Bobby Tolbert said. “After I found out it was true, I gave thanks to the good Lord, over and over again for His blessings.”

Tolbert said the trust will tithe to the church and then share the winnings with family.

“Mr. Tolbert has put his faith and his family first in consideration of how to manage this prize, which is a great start on the long-term handling of this $14 million-plus jackpot,” said Texas Lottery Commission Executive Director Anthony J. Sadberry. “The other half of the February 23 Lotto $28 million jackpot has already been claimed by JM Hale, LP, of Addison. That ticket also was purchased with the annuity option, and, like the Tolbert Trust’s ticket, it also was a Quick Pick.”

The numbers drawn were 2 - 7 - 21 – 35 - 43 - 50.

The winner requested minimal publicity.

Fiesta Beverage #22, 12311 Main, in Houston sold the ticket. The retailer is eligible to receive a bonus that equals one percent of the prize, which comes to $143,234.31.

JM HALE, LP, CLAIMS ONE OF TWO LOTTO TEXAS JACKPOT PRIZES

The February 23 Lotto Texas drawing boasted an impressive $28 million jackpot. That night, multiple Texas Lottery players also got bragging rights when two tickets matched all six numbers drawn: 2, 7, 21, 35, 43, and 50.

JM Hale, LP, of Addison, represented by John M. Hale, claimed half of the total jackpot today, taking the annuity option that provides $14,323,430.98 before taxes.

The claimant requested minimal publicity.

The Tom Thumb located at 14280 Marsh Lane in Addison is eligible to receive a $143,234 retailer bonus for selling the winning ticket.

Mega Millions Couple is model for fellow lotto winners

Chicago Sun-Times
BY CHERYL V. JACKSON
March 20, 2008

The Illinois woman knew on Dec. 18, the winning lottery ticket she held would change her life. On March 19, she was claiming an oversized check from the state and answering questions from news media.

That the winner picked up the $81.5 million prize, her half of a $163 million Mega Millions jackpot drawing, is a big deal.

That it took three months is a rarity. She spent the time to work with lawyers and financial advisers to maintain anonymity and protect assets -- something the state lottery agency wants other potential winners to note.

Sporting large sunglasses, the winner, a pharmacist, came forward, but she refused to provide her name or where she lived. An occasional player, she bought the winning ticket at a gas station at 851 S. Sutton Rd. in Streamwood.

"I came back home. My husband said, 'Let me check your ticket,' " she said. A quick confirmation through an Internet site and the two were screaming in delight. "It was a shocking moment."

The first step wasn't to get the money. A family member referred them to Wood Dale attorney Terry Zimmer, who assembled an advisory team, including estate planner Richard Kuenster.

"I told her get an unlisted number A.S.A.P.," Kuenster said.

The team helped the family create the JYS Family Limited Partnership and put together entities to keep the winner's identity from the public, and shield the money from some taxes, creditors and frivolous lawsuits while providing for her, her husband, children and any future grandchildren, Kuenster said.

"We're so proud of them for taking that time," said acting Illinois Lottery Superintendent Jodie Winnett. "What a sharp winner we have in Illinois and we hope that the rest of our community will hear this and that they'll take a deep breath and consider protecting themselves."

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