Eight meat plant workers win $365 million

[gldstwmn]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/22/pow....ap/index.html

LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) -- A group of eight workers at a Nebraska meat processing plant came forward Wednesday to claim the record $365 million Powerball jackpot.

They all work at a ConAgra ham processing plant near the U Stop convenience store where they bought the winning ticket.

It was the biggest jackpot on record for any lottery in the United States.

The winning numbers drawn Saturday were 15, 17, 43, 44 and 48, with a Powerball number of 29, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association of Des Moines, Iowa, which runs the game for the participating states.

They had the option of taking the money in one lump sum or installments over 30 years.

They chose the cash option.

The cash option gives them $177.3 million, or $124.1 million after taxes. On the installment plan, the first payment would be $6,507,986 after taxes.

The pre-tax haul on the cash option for the group of eight would be $22,162,500. After taxes it amounts to $15.5 million each.

The eight workers' names: Quang Dao, 56; David Gehle, 53; Alain Maboussou, 26; Chasity Rutjens, 29; Robert Stewart, 30; Michael Terpstra, 47; Dung Tran, 34; and Eric Zornes, 40.

The previous U.S. lottery jackpot record was $363 million for the Big Game, the forerunner of Mega Millions. That was won by two ticketholders in Illinois and Michigan in 2000. Powerball's previous record jackpot, $340 million, was won by an Oregon family in October.

Powerball is played in 28 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Cornhusker hotel ballroom, where the announcement of the winners was made Wednesday, was jammed with about 200 people, including dozens of media members from Nebraska and around the nation. A phalanx of satellite news trucks surrounded the hotel.