Easy street: Retired truck driver claims $239 million lottery jackpot
By Stephanie Stoughton
ASSOCIATED PRESS

See the Press Conference- Really Cute!

RICHMOND, Va. – Retired truck driver J.R. Triplett is on Easy Street: He stepped forward Thursday to claim a $239 million lottery prize, the second-biggest undivided jackpot in U.S. history.

Twirling a toothpick in his mouth and holding his wife's hand, Triplett said the prize was "no big thing to me" and gave assurances he would spend it wisely. His wife, Peggy, vowed to "shop till I drop."

Triplett, a regular lottery player, said the ticket was one of five he bought at a convenience store not far from his Winchester home. He saw the winning numbers on television the morning after the Feb. 20 drawing in the multistate Mega Millions lottery.

He told his wife: "Sweetheart, I've got those numbers."

"Then she got down on her knees and thanked the Lord," he said in a statement.

Triplett said he waited more than a month before claiming his winnings so he could talk to a lawyer and "get everything straight."

The Tripletts, who declined to give their ages, have two children and two grandchildren.

At a news conference with his wife, Triplett said that he had no big plans for the jackpot but that he wants to put his money in real estate, "because they don't make no more dirt, you know."

Triplett said he has already bought a headstone for a friend's grave and plans to donate to two churches. But he and his wife of 35 years plan to have some fun with the money, too.

"Sweetheart and I might get lost for a couple of days," he said.

The odds of winning were 1 in more than 135 million.

The Tripletts took their winnings in a pre-tax lump sum of $141.5 million, instead of $239 million in 26 annual installments. (There was $141,776,046 in the prize pool)

The biggest single-ticket jackpot in U.S. history is $314.9 million, won by Jack Whittaker of Scott Depot, W.Va., in a Powerball drawing on Christmas 2002. Three winners shared a $331 million jackpot in 2000.

In the case of the Mega Millions jackpot, the nearly six-week delay in claiming the prize led to speculation that the ticket had been lost or discarded.

Winchester Couple Claims $239 Million Mega-Prize
Mega Millions Press Release

4/1/04 - Virginia - “Sweetheart, I’ve got those numbers.”

With those words, J. R. Triplett of Winchester told his wife Peggy that they had won the largest jackpot ever in Virginia and the second largest undivided jackpot in U. S. history.

It was around 7:00 on the morning of February 21, 2004. Mr. Triplett had just seen a television news report announcing that one Mega Millions ticket had matched all six numbers in the previous night’s drawing. The winning numbers were 01-13-20-21-30 and the Mega Ball number 24. They sounded very familiar to him.

“I can remember numbers real well,” says the retired truck driver.

Mr. Triplett bought the ticket at Red Apple in Stephens City, just a few miles from his home. He says he had never been in the store before, but on the afternoon of the drawing, he decided to stop at the convenience store and buy five tickets. He was one of millions of people who played Mega Millions for that drawing, which was attracting world wide attention for its high jackpot, then estimated at $230 million.

When he told his wife of 35 years that they were winners, Mr. Triplett says Peggy cried. “Then she got down on her knees and thanked the Lord,” he says. “It didn’t excite me all that much. It’s no big thing to me.”

Mr. Triplett says after driving a truck for 47 years, not too much excites him any more.

Financial information in story below. Please notice that this press
release does NOT say if the winner chose CVO or annual pay nor
does it tell you how much they paid him or how much he's going
to receive if annual pay. WHY? I can tell you that total
"roll sales" were $447,384,177 and the amount allocated
for the jackpot prize {31.690% of total sales per the
official game rule} was $141,776,046.

$230 Million ... WOW That Is A Lot of Dough
by Dawn Nettles
The Lotto Report

In northern Shenandoah Valley (Virginia) people are wondering, “Is the $230 million winner a local or was it a traveler off Interstate 81?”

The Mega Millions winner can take home an est $9,192,307 a year over 26 years for a total payout of an est $238,999,982 or opt for a lump sum payment of an est $141,776,046 before taxes. (The cash amount indicates the investment rate was an estimated 1.685% which is very low.)

REVISED: 9:30 AM - 2/23/04 - Total "roll sales" {last 15 draws} were $447,384,177. The amount allocated for the jackpot prize {31.690% of total sales per the official game rule} was $141,776,046. We'll see how much the winner actually receives at a later date as the Mega Millions group pays the amount "advertised" and not the amount allocated from sales. For cash payouts, they pay however much it requires to obtain the advertised amount over a 26 year period irregardless of how much is in the prize pool.

In Virginia and most other states, players can opt for cash value option or annual pay should they win. But in Texas and New York, players have no options after they win as to how they want their prizes to be paid.

This was the second time in 13 years that the Red Apple has made a customer a multi-millionaire. The first winner bought a $5.4 million ticket in 1991 and was a regular who lived in the area.

The store is located in Stephens City, a Frederick County town of about 1,200 residents and is about five miles south of Winchester.

A Virginia lottery representative arrived at the Red Apple around 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning (Feb 21) to confirm that they had sold the winning ticket. Store employees jumped up and down saying, “This can't be happening. This can't be happening!'"

On a dry-erase board inside the Red Apple is a trivia question game about baseball stadiums. When won, the customer receives a free fountain drink or hot dog or breakfast sandwich. Added below the trivia question is a note of congratulations to the Mega Millions winner and it says, “The winner can build his own diamond!”

The store owners, Harry and Doris Stimpson, will receive a bonus of $25,000. (In Texas, the retailer would have received $1,000,000. For the Mega Millions game, the TLC increased the retailers bonus' to 1% but capped at $1 million. For Lotto Texas, the bonus is 1% but capped at $500,000.)

The winner beat the odds of 135 million-to-one. 112.3 million tickets were sold, by all states combined for this draw, which means they covered roughly 75% of the total combinations. Also noteworthy is that of the 112.3 million tickets sold, 56 were five of six wins and 209 tickets matched four plus the bonus number.

The Mega Millions Group pays winners the amount “advertised” and “rounds” payments down. The Official Game Rule states that 31.690% of sales is allocated to the jackpot prize but this does not mean that the winner will receive all that is in the prize pool nor does it mean that the amount “advertised” is indicative of the true return of the monies allocated (won).

For the last Mega Million win in Ohio, the “official settlement report” did NOT show 31.690% of sales as being in the jackpot prize pool. It was short by $82. Additionally, the winner footed the bill, in excess of $1.5 million, for the purchase of securities then selling early to pay the cash value option. A rather hefty penalty.

For the $230 million drawing, Texas sold 10,212,362 tickets and much of this came from bordering states. The two highest draw sales, for previous single Texas draws, were 51.9 tickets and 50.9 million tickets.

Since the matrix change to Lotto Texas last May 2003 [5/44], Lotto Texas sales are currently down by $70,758,763. {Comparing first 84 draws with last 84 draws under 6/54. Projections were that with this rule change, Texas would see an additional $50 million in revenues. They've gone the wrong direction!! :))}

In the last 15 Mega Million drawings, Texas sold 45,586,824 tickets. Texas profit: est $22.7 million. Players received: est $8.6 million. Sending to Virginia: est $14.4 million. Thus far, Texas has sent $22+ million out of state from Mega Millions sales.

Texas is the largest Mega Million state but does not rank number one in sales. For the $177 million drawing held on Feb 17, 2004, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Ohio all sold more tickets than Texas. (See draw sales by state)

NEW - There was a $220 million Mega Million drawing on April 12, 2002. For that draw and with fewer participating states, Mega Million draw sales were $120.2 million. Mega Million sales are declining. Compare draw sales and jackpots since inception.

The winning numbers were 1-13-20-21-30 Bonus 24.

(Official figures to come Monday, Feb 23, 2004 - will revise at that time)