DALTON, Ga. - A Georgia truck driver stepped forward Wednesday to claim half
of a $390 million jackpot, the richest lottery prize in US history. "I'm going
to do a lot of fishing," Ed Nabors, 52, of Rocky Face, Ga., about 90 miles north
of Atlanta, said in a deep Southern drawl.
MegaMillions lottery co-winner Ed Nabors is interviewed by
reporters during a news conference held after he showed up at the Georgia
Lottery office to turn in his winning ticket, Wednesday, March 7, 2007, in
Atlanta. Nabors, a Georgia truck driver, stepped forward Wednesday to
claim half of a $390 million jackpot, the richest lottery prize in US
history. [AP]
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The other winning ticket in
Tuesday night's Mega Millions drawing was sold at a liquor store in New Jersey,
and the holder did not immediately come forward.
Nabors bought his ticket when he stopped in for his weekly cup of coffee at a
convenience store in Dalton - the self-proclaimed "Carpet Capital of the World"
- near a carpet mill run by his employer, Mohawk Industries.
He said he didn't learn he had won until 9 a.m. - about 10 hours after the
numbers were announced - when his co-workers told them that someone bought the
winning ticket in Dalton.
"I'm still numb," he said.
He elected to take his winnings in a lump sum instead of annual installments,
and will get $116.5 million before taxes, or more than $80 million after.
Nabors said he wants to buy a house for his daughter, who has wanted to move
out of her mobile home for a long time, and plans to keep working - "at least
two more days."
Nabors' mother, Doris, said the whole family was in shock.
"We just can't believe it. He was shaking so hard they sent him home from
work," she said from the door of the rural home she shares with her son. An
American flag waved over a patch of daffodils, and a small camper and fishing
boat were parked outside.
The winning numbers were announced in New York's Times Square, where the 12
participating Mega Millions states agreed to move the drawing from Atlanta after
the jackpot hit $355 million. Even though the temperature was just 16 degrees, a
few hopefuls showed up to watch the drawing.
The winning numbers were 16-22-29-39-42, with the Mega Ball 20. The odds of
hitting the winning combination: 1 in 176 million.
The previous largest lottery jackpot in the US was $365 million in 2006, when
eight workers at a Nebraska meatpacking plant won the Powerball drawing. The Big
Game, the forerunner of Mega Millions, paid out a $363 million jackpot in 2000.
Mega Millions tickets are sold in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and
Washington state.