Powerball Winner Louise White: Rhode Island Woman Gets Rainbow Sherbet and $336.4M
Powerball winner Louise White, 81, purchased a winning Powerball ticket on February 11, but it's taken her a while to come to terms with the windfall.
She heard the winning numbers on a television announcement and wrote them down, but did not immediately check her own ticket. A bit later, when she discovered that her numbers were identical to what she had written down, she didn't believe it and checked online. They matched again, even after she shut the computer down and restarted it to look one more time. The next morning, White tucked the winning ticket into her Bible and went out for Sunday breakfast.
Today, the 81-year-old Rhode Island resident has finally gone public with her prize. The February jackpot was worth $336.4 million, and White has chosen a lump sum payment according to ABC. After taxes, that comes to $210 million. This is the third largest prize in Powerball history, and the first jackpot since ticket prices rose from $1 to $2 in January. The chances of matching all six numbers, as White did, come to about 1 in 175 million.
It all started with some rainbow sherbet; around 7 p.m. on February 11, a family member decided to pick some up at the supermarket. White was anxious to go herself in order to choose her numbers before the evening drawing.
I had just finished making a sandwich and was asked if I wanted anything at the store, wrote White in a statement on Tuesday. And I said emphatically, 'I can't believe you asked me if I want you to get me something. NO, I don't want you to get me something, I want to go with you!' And although I was told there was no hurry and I should finish eating, I said we needed to go now!
So she took a ride to the local Stop N Shop, and that's when she picked up the Powerball ticket. When she turned on the evening news that night and discovered that she had won, she and family members hugged and jumped up and down in disbelief.
We're excited, very blessed and will determine in the coming months how we'll spend the money, but we know we'll always have rainbow sherbert, she wrote.
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