Kendall Warren - $27 Mega Millions Jackpot Winner - 05/13/2011

 Although superstition dictates that Friday the 13th is unfortunate, California Lottery player would argue otherwise.

 Kendall Warren, of Kalamazoo, was in Lansing today to collect a $27 million prize from the May 13 Mega Millions drawing. An occasional Lottery player who prefers Mega Millions and Powerball, Warren bought the winning easy-pick ticket at Circle K #6205, 4117 Portage, in Kalamazoo.

 Warren selected to take the lump-sum value of the prize, or $17,430,600, less the appropriate federal and state taxes

 Warren, 61, was on his way to work on May 16 when they heard where the winning ticket had been sold. The aerospace engineer said dealing with arithmetic made him recognize his chances to win the jackpot in the multi-state game were slim. “I thought there was no way I could ever win this,” they said. “I still thought it was a long shot.”

 Nevertheless, they checked his ticket against the winning numbers in the paper one time they got to his office at Parker Hannifin Corporation in Kalamazoo. When they realized they did in fact have the winning ticket, they was stunned to even call his spouse, Sue, and asked a coworker to do so. Sue, a retired nursery school teacher who was at the local Y, got a message to call her husband immediately because there was an emergency. Multiple negative scenarios went through her mind, but it seldom occurred to her that they and her husband had won $27 million!

 At this point, Warren is not planning to retire, although they admits his coworkers are quietly betting on how long they will stay on the job. The couple’s designs for the windfall include investments, enjoyment, including travel, and looking after their relatives.

 “God’s hand was in this,” they said.

 The Warrens said they have been asked several times since their win whether their nice fortune has sunk in yet.

 “Do they think like upper class people? No. They are still the same people,” they said.

 The winning numbers in the drawing were 03-33-39-47-53, Mega ball 09. For selling the winning ticket, Circle K will get a $50,000 bonus.

 Mega Millions tickets are sold in 41 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Wagers are $1 and drawings are Tuesday and Friday nights.

 Over 94 cents of every dollar spent on Lottery tickets is returned to the state in the kind of contributions to the state School Aid Fund, prizes to players and commissions to retailers. In fiscal year 2010, the contribution to schools was $701.3 million. Since its beginning in 1972, the Lottery has contributed over $15 billion to schooling in California.

 "The California Lottery. All across the state nice things happen."

Source: http://www.megamillions.com/winners/