11/30/12 A Highland man plans to help his mother, start a college fund for his daughter and take his girlfriend to Red Lobster after winning $1 million in last night’s historic $587.5 million Powerball drawing.

What Larry Chandler of Highland isn’t going to do is quit working.  The hard-working 34-year-old Hoosier and union electrician says he’ll be back on the job Monday morning after he meets with a tax advisor and a financial planner.

The winning numbers in last night’s drawing were: 5-16-22-23-29 PB: 6.

Chandler, who played numbers of his own choosing, matched the first five of those numbers, but not the Powerball number.  He was all smiles as he claimed his winnings.

“This doesn’t happen to me!” said Chandler. “It’s crazy. I’ve never won anything.”

Chandler purchased his million-dollar ticket at Highland Citgo at 8317 Kennedy Avenue in Highland.
He claimed his prize on the heels of Barbara Wright of Fort Wayne who presented a Powerball ticket worth $40,000 to Lottery officials shortly after the doors opened at Hoosier Lottery Headquarters in Indianapolis this morning.

Chandler’s million-dollar win is one of two in the Hoosier state in last night’s historic Powerball drawing.  The other $1 million ticket was sold by United PSM at 601 Wheatland Road in Vincennes.  That prize has not yet been claimed.

Brisk sales nationwide drove Wednesday’s jackpot up to a record $587.5 million.  When it was all said and done, two tickets — one sold in Arizona and one in Missouri — matched all six numbers and will split the jackpot.

In total, Indiana retailers sold more than 206,000 winning Powerball tickets with winnings of more than $3.1 million for last night’s drawing. An additional 24,000 winning Powerball tickets in Indiana included the Power Play option and accounted for an additional $261,900 in prizes.

Hoosier Lottery officials remind players to check their numbers carefully and to sign the back of their tickets immediately.

The mission of the Hoosier Lottery is to maximize net income for the state in a socially-responsible manner. In fiscal year 2012, the Hoosier Lottery generated $211 million in surplus revenue which was used to significantly reduce the motor vehicle excise tax for all Hoosier drivers and also supported the pension funds for retired Indiana teachers, police and firefighters. Player prizes for the fiscal year totaled $533 million and $60 million was earned by Indiana retailers on the sale of Hoosier Lottery products.

Since its inception in 1989, the Hoosier Lottery has produced more than $4 billion for the citizens of Indiana, $1 billion in commissions and bonuses for participating Indiana retailers, and has paid out more than $8.8 billion in player prizes.

The Hoosier Lottery reminds players to always play responsibly.

Second story on second winner

  The second of two $1 million Powerball prizes won in Indiana last night has been claimed, and it’s a family affair for the winners.  A Bruceville retiree and her two grown children  stepped forward and claimed their $1 million prize from last night’s historic $587.5 million Powerball drawing this afternoon at Hoosier Lottery Headquarters in Indianapolis.

Pat Wilkerson of Bruceville purchased the winning ticket at United PSM at 601 Wheatland Road in Vincennes.  She elected to share her winnings with her daughter, Michelle Cummins, and her son, Sean Wilkerson, both of Vincennes. Each party received approximately $333,333 before taxes.

Wilkerson said the decision to split the windfall with her children was a no-brainer.

“I always knew if I won anything big I would split it with my two children,” said Pat Wilkerson. “That’s just a given.”

Pat Wilkerson is retired from the National Park Service.  Both Cummins and Sean Wilkerson work for Vincennes University where Cummins is a math professor and Sean Wilkerson is the IT Director.

As for their winnings, Cummins plans to use her portion for her two daughters’ college educations. Sean Wilkerson said it’s too soon for him to have any idea what he’ll do with his portion. With three children under 10 he’ll have no shortage of ways to spend it.

“We’ve had a blessed life.  It’s not going to go to our heads. We are thankful for what we have and want to continue on that way,” said Cummins.

The numbers on Wilkerson’s ticket matched the first five numbers, but not the Powerball number. Wilkerson’s lucky numbers were hand chosen by her and represent the birthdays of her daughter and five grandchildren.