A Minnesota man emerged Thursday as the first winner in the $448.4 Powerball drawing, leaving two anonymous Jersey winners to claim their pieces of the huge prize.
Paul White, a project engineer from a Minneapolis suburb, was introduced as the nation’s newest mega-millionaire by Minnesota lottery officials.
White, who bought just two $2 tickets, discovered that one held the six matching numbers after a phone call from his significant other with word that a winner was sold in Minnesota.
Once he checked the numbers, the West Ham, Minn., man discovered the massive windfall belonged to him. White’s girlfriend listened on the other end of the phone as he went through his winning digits.
“I said, ‘I have to call you back later! Wooooo!’” he recounted. “And ran around the office, and everybody’s like ‘Oh God, what happened?’ I think I had 10 people verify it before I left the office.
“Yeah, very cool. Very cool stuff.”
The other two winners, who bought their tickets in the Garden State, remained unknown after White claimed his cash.
The winning Jersey tickets were sold at a Stop & Shop in South Brunswick and an Acme Markets store in Little Egg Harbor.
“Everybody coming into the store is talking about it,” said South Brunswick store worker India Whitfield, 21. “Even when I was walking out of my house this morning, people were like ‘Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, somebody won!’
“It’s kind of cool.”
The central New Jersey store brought in a huge sheet cake with the words “Congratulations Powerball Winner”on it in hopes that the lucky ticket buyer would return.
The same store sold a Powerball ticket worth $1 million last year, and the prize went unclaimed.
Whitfield, who sells cigarettes and lottery tickets, said she had no idea who the winner was this time, either: “We sell a lot of tickets. It could be anybody.”
Store regular Emil Colantuono, 66, said his heart skipped a beat when he learned where the ticket was sold.
“I got four phone calls this morning from people I know — including my daughter — saying, ‘Did you check your ticket?’” Colantuono recounted. “I said, ‘Uh-oh, this could be big!’”
Sadly, it wasn’t. The retired Dayton, N.J., resident didn’t match the winning numbers of 5, 25, 30, 58, 59 and Powerball 32.
The three winners can collect $58.3 million after taxes if they take the prize in a lump sum, or they can opt to take their $149.4 million shares over 30 years.
“I’m just happy someone’s life is changing for the positive,” said Phil Weber, manager of the Little Egg Harbor store.
Customers who bought tickets at his store were double-checking their numbers in hopes of collecting the life-changing payoff for their $2 investments.
Weber said the money that comes to his business for selling the winning ticket will go to a relief fund for victims of Hurricane Sandy.
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