We have a winner! Paul White, 45, of Ham Lake, Minnesota, was verified Thursday by lottery officials and declared one of the three lucky Powerball players to hit the jackpot and receive one-third of $448 million pot. Each of the winning ticket is worth about $149 million before taxes.
"I ran around my office screaming when I saw the numbers," White told KARE 5 reporter Dave Berggren.
The store White bought the winning ticket at was also revealed Thursday as the Holiday Stationstore in Anoka County, MN.
White, an electrical contractor and father of a 16-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter, was joined by his longtime partner, Kim VanReese, and co-workers Thursday at Minnesota state lottery headquarters for the official announcement. In a press conference following the check presentation, he said he plans to use the money to take care of his family first, including buying his dad a 1963 Chevy Impala.
The jackpot is the third largest payout in Powerball history. White told the press Thursday he is taking the lump sum payout, which is about $58.3 million.
The other two winning tickets from the Wednesday night drawing were bought in New Jersey and their owners have yet to come forward. A spokesperson for the New Jersey Lottery said one of the winning Powerball tickets was bought at a Super Stop & Shop store in South Brunswick, NJ and the other at an Acme Markets store in Little Egg Harbor, NJ.