Some of the biggest winners in the Powerball lottery got their fortunes by playing together. Here are the amazing stories of the biggest Powerball syndicate winners of all times. Find out how participating in a family or work syndicate has changed their lives.
1. The Power Pack – $731.1 Million
The $731.1 million the Powerball lottery was offering in the draw of January 20th, 2021 ended up in Maryland . The lucky ticket owners bought the ticket and most probably also live in a mining town in the west of the state.
They claimed their prize in May the same year under the name “The Power Pack ” as they did not want to make their identities public. Therefore, we do not know too many details about the group: how many people participated to this lottery pool, what they are going to do with their fortune or the time they have been trying their luck.
When claiming the first cash prize, they chose the lump sum option with the amount of $366.6 million after taxes.
2. Anonymous Family Syndicate – $487 Million
The biggest syndicate winners of all times are a family from New Hampshire. On July 15th, 2016, they played Powerball together and they scooped a huge jackpot of $487 million.
It was important to them to remain anonymous after their win, so they checked the no publicity box on their lottery ticket when they bought it. This made it much easier to arrange that their identities be kept private after winning the Powerball.
New Hampshire is one of the US states that permits lottery winners to collect their tickets through trusts. They hired a lawyer, who set up the entire process and they were able to collect their jackpot without revealing their names.
William Shaheen, the winner’s attorney told the press that “There couldn’t have been two better people or a better family to win this money. They’re going to do great things with it.” The New Hampshire family did exactly that. Soon after they got their money, they donated $100,000 to the End 68 Hours of Hunger foundation.
3. The Tennessee Twenty – $420 Million
When it comes to the lottery, perseverance will get you very far, as shown by the biggest Powerball syndicate of all times, the Tennessee Twenty.
They have played the lottery together for eight years, buying 60 tickets twice a week for the US Powerball and on November 26th, 2016, they finally got their big break. They won an enormous jackpot worth $420 million.
The 20 members of the syndicate worked together at North American Stamping Group, an auto parts manufacturing plant in Portland.
They shared the pot evenly between them, leaving each of the members with a fortune of $12.7 million.
“All these people have always had a heart to help people and be there for people,” said Steve Huffman, one of the members of the syndicate. “Now we can do more and help more. There’s going to be a lot of people blessed through this.”
Amy O’Neal estimated that more than 500 people would benefit from the group’s winnings. Most of the 20 co-workers said that they wanted to use their fortunes to help out their extended families.
Carmen Davis, one of the Tennessee Twenty said that she wants to buy a car for her mother who is undergoing chemotherapy. She will also pay for the full expense of her treatment. Billy Taylor, another syndicate member, said that he wants to use his share of the prize to help his four adult children.
The manager of the manufacturing plant was worried that after winning the US Powerball, 20 of his best employees would simply walk out on the company. However, half of them said that they want to keep working. As for the rest, who said that they were off to an early retirement, they promised they would stay around long enough to train their replacements.
4. The Shipping 20 – $241 Million
The Shipping 20 is another big co-worker syndicate that won the Powerball. Together, they’ve scooped a $241 million jackpot after playing the lottery together.
The syndicate members worked together in the shipping department of Quaker Oates in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Their lottery routine was to buy tickets for the Powerball when the jackpot got higher than $100 million. They would each chip in $5 and buy the tickets as a group.
Eventually, it earned them the huge $241 million jackpot, which they have split evenly between them.Aged between 35 and 64, the Shipping 20 syndicate included 18 men and 2 women.
They have asked that their names be kept private, but this was not in line with Iowa law. They chose the lump sum payout for their win, netting $160.3 million. After taxes, each member received approximately $5.6 million.
5. SEPTA 48 – $173 Million
As far as work syndicates go, SEPTA 48 is the largest. Its 48 members all worked together at SEPTA in Pennsylvania and they each chipped in $5 to buy 120 tickets for the US Powerball. This earned them a huge Powerball jackpot worth $173 million on April 25th, 2012.
They chose the cash value option on the jackpot, netting $107.5 million. This left them with approximately $2.4 million each.
Matt Sheridan, one of the syndicate members, told the press how one of the co-workers didn’t want to take put in his share initially.
Since Matt owed him money, he put in the money for him as well. “When we found out, he ran over and gave me a hug,” said Mr. Sheridan.
“He said ‘I wanted to kiss you but that might be a little too much.”’ This goes to show you that luck still plays a big part in winning the lottery.
Marylouise Wagner survived stage three breast cancer and underwent heart surgery. She came back to work after her recovery process and two weeks later, she found out she had won the Powerball. “I just want to give my message to everyone,” said Mrs. Wagner. “Don’t ever give up because you never know what’s right around the corner.”
6. Ocean’s 16 – $149,3 Million
16 co-workers from the Ocean County Maintenance Garage won the Powerball together on August 7th, 2016. The big jackpot that night was $448 million and there were three winning tickets. One of them belonged to the office syndicate, which earned them $149 million, a third of the full prize.
The cash payout for the prize was $86 million, which the syndicate members split evenly between them. Their story is one of the most impressive in lottery history, as the win was a truly life-changing turn. Most of the members of Ocean’s 16 were victims of Hurricane Sandy and the Powerball money was just what they needed to repair their homes and change their lives for the better.
The 16 syndicate members charted a bus to go to Trenton, New Jersey to collect their Powerball prize. They all attended the press conference and they took the traditional picture with the oversized cheque. However, it was William Seeley who stole the show.
The long-haired and bearded man wore camouflage pants, a Duck Dynasty t-shirt and a straw hat covered in fishing lures. He said that his plan for the Powerball fortune is to retire to a log cabin on multiple acres of land to watch NASCAR races. ‘We’re very happy, happy, happy,’ he told the press.
Mr. Seeley also told the press that he lost his mother to cancer and that his father was also battling the disease. The Powerball money could pay for his treatment. “I told him I loved him and that you got nothing to worry about now except getting better,’ said Mr. Seeley.
Darlene Ricco, another member of the syndicate lost her house after Hurricane Sandy hit. She said that the first thing she would spend her Powerball money on was a new home for her, her daughter, and their dog. Joseph Odoardo and Paul White said that they would retire after winning the lottery.
7. FlaMass Family Joint Venture – $148.8 Million
On April 23rd, 2014, a family syndicate from Florida scooped a huge jackpot worth $148.8 million. Christopher Centrella, his mother, Suzanne, and his 72-year-old father, Louis, played the lottery together and won.
They collected their prize as the FlaMass Family Joint Venture and they opted for the lump sum payout, which was worth $87 million.
Chris said that he is the same person after winning the Powerball, but that he wants to put the fortune to good use.
“A lot of people are going to be helped with this money, a lot, and that’s the honest to God’s truth,” he said. He also told the press that he and his family “just want to fade away into obscurity”. They are not interested in becoming public figures.
He even shut down his social media accounts. “We’re hardworking people and we just want to live our lives,” said Chris. “Nothing has changed. We’re the exact same people and we just want to be left alone.”
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