Construction company owner wins €303m lottery

A 55-year-old US contractor won the $314.9m (€303m) Christmas Day jackpot, the world’s biggest undivided lottery prize to date, and said the first thing he would do is turn over 10% to his church.

“I just want to thank God for letting me pick the right numbers – or letting the machine pick the right numbers,” said Powerball winner Andrew “Jack” Whittaker, dressed in black with a big black cowboy hat.

Whittaker stepped forward last night with his wife, daughter and 15-year-old granddaughter and accepted an oversized facsimile cheque for $314.9m and a cashable 10 million first instalment on the lottery prize.

He said he planned to lavish money on his family, expand his contracting business, maybe buy a helicopter, and give to his church.

“The very first thing I’m going to do is sit down and make out three cheques to three pastors for 10% of this cheque,” he said.

Whittaker, who lives in the small town of Scott Depot, about 20 miles west of Charleston, West Virginia opted to take a lump sum of $111.7m (€107.5m) after taxes instead of 30 annual instalments.

“I’ve had to work for everything in my life. This is the first thing that’s ever been given to me,” said Whittaker, president of three construction companies which build sewage plants and other water projects.

Whittaker said he originally thought he had lost the jackpot because the numbers came up wrong on the televised drawing on Christmas night. It was not until this morning that he realised he hit all six numbers and won.

His daughter, Ginger McMahan, said she had cancer twice and had not worked for about a year. “I was getting ready to go back to work, but I think I’m retired now,” she said.

Whittaker’s wife of 36 years said she planned to go to Israel. “It’s where Jesus walked,” Jewell Whittaker said.

Whittaker also said he wanted to help “people to want to better themselves to have a better life”.

“I’m getting really excited because of the good works I can do with this money,” he said.

He said little about buying luxuries for himself – aside from a helicopter he said he had had his eye on for a while.

“I have 25 people laid off right now at Christmas and I want more work so I can put them back to work,” he said. He said he currently employs 117 people.

He said he was not a regular lottery player but bought 100 in tickets because the jackpot was so high. He said he played only when it reached 100 million.

The ticket was purchased at the C&L Super Serve in Hurricane, a town of 5,200 people 25 miles west of Charleston.

The jackpot was the largest yet for a single winning ticket, West Virginia lottery spokeswoman Nancy Bulla said. It also was the fifth-largest jackpot in US history.

The Super Serve’s owner, Larry Trogdon, will get $100,000 (€96,000) for selling the ticket.