News: LI Workers Enjoy Payoff for Powerball Lotto
(Long Island, N.Y.) The twenty employees from the Melville Costco, who are now millionaires, became the topic of conversation as they were pictured with their hefty checks. The winning ticket afforded them $201.9 million, which some have estimated will leave them with $70.2 million to divide after taxes. The ecstatic workers recently returned to the store to speak with fellow workers and shoppers, uniting as a group of happy and rich employees.
The winning ticket was drawn earlier this month on June 1st and the Costco workers’ pool began about a month prior. According to reports, the pool members decided to join the hopeful contestants of the Powerball Lotto once the stakes had reached $144 million. Several weeks went by without any winners, causing the sum to reach its summit of over $200 million.
The Costco employees who participated were later notified that their five-dollar-a-weekend pool afforded them six-figure earnings. Some of the winners claimed that they couldn’t believe their eyes. The wide range of winning workers consisted of a group of pharmacists, security guards, meat cutters, merchandise managers, and supervisors.
Some of the winners also claimed that the current economy has inspired them to save the money and make it last. They claimed that the jackpot has caused them to breathe easier and look forward to leading happier lives. Most declared that they would use the earnings to help take care of their families, and at least one worker intended on continuing at Costco.
The employee who purchased the ticket was a seventy-three-year-old man from Lindenhurst. Reports stated that he is a die-hard Brooklyn Dodgers baseball fan, a fact that prompted the group of winning workers to call themselves the “1937 Flatbush Avenue Dodgers.” The year was allegedly associated with the man’s birthday, and the historic baseball team later went to California after the 1957 season.
According to reports, each of the winners opted to receive a lump sum payout instead of stretching their winnings over a span of twenty years. Some wonder whether their decision speaks to the current state of the economy. The incident has many Long Islanders questioning what they would do in the place of the Costco group of employees.
A sixty-one-year-old worker from Copiague claimed that he would opt for a trip to Las Vegas, and another employee mentioned the decision to upgrade a motorcycle. Other employees had spoken about financing family reunions and purchasing/modifying homes. One worker was vacationing in Mexico at the time when news of the winning ticket was revealed to the group.
Some reports have accused the winning workers of being media-shy, claiming that spokesmen were designated to speak for the entire group. The retailer that sold the winning ticket was also under the spotlight, and lottery officials provided the store with a ten-thousand-dollar bonus.
