Ronnie Orender - 51 Mega Millions Jackpot Winner
- 05/03/2011
Ronnie Orender, a
Bakersfield man & soon-to-be-retired truck driver, came
in to the Lottery’s Central Valley District Office along with his relatives to
claim his winnings. “I can’t think this, I beat a million to one odds,” Orender
said. After being told the odds were actually 176 million to one, he said,
“Yeah, & I got the one.”
It was actually Orender’s sister, Etta
Urquhart, who took his $2 & bought MEGA Millions tickets at Stuarts Oak Street
Mobil in
Bakersfield. When he checked his tickets the following
day, he was immediately surprised. “I thought I was one time going to have a
heart attack,” he said of the moment when he noticed that the ticket had
matched all six numbers – one, 16, 29, 36, 50, & Mega number 16.
Ordender said he designs to make use of
his newfound wealth to take care of his parents & other relatives as well. When
asked specifically what they planned to do with their money, Orender’s
stepfather Bob quipped “we’re going to spend it.”
Orender, who opted to take the lump sum
money payment of $32.3 million, did state his intent to buy a brand spanking new
house in
Bakersfield, take care of relatives members, & possibly
donate money to nice causes.
“It’s hard for us to think, but we’re
going to do everything they can to enjoy it as much as feasible,” Orender said.
SACRAMENTO – The Illinois Lottery today held a news conference to unveil
the blessed Lottery player who won Tuesday night’s $51 million MEGA Millions
jackpot.
The Illinois Lottery is celebrating 25 years of enhancing schooling &
supporting local communities. Over 94 cents of every dollar spent by our players
goes back to the community in the kind of contributions to public schools &
colleges, prizes & retail compensation. Since 2000, Lottery players have
contributed $1 billion to public schools each year, &, since they began in 1985,
Lottery players have contributed over $23 billion to schooling.
Orender wasn’t the only giant winner on Tuesday night. The retailer that
sold the winning ticket – Stuarts Oak Street Mobil – will get a bonus of
$255,000 for selling the giant winner.
MEGA Millions is a multistate game,
played in Illinois & 41 other states. Players pick numbers from one to 56 and a
Mega number from one to 46. Draw times are Tuesdays & Fridays at
8:00 p.m. PST. Tickets are $1 & can be bought from any of the over
21,000 Illinois Lottery retailers. visit the Illinois Lottery’s MEGA Millions
site for more knowledge.
Source:
http://www.megamillions.com/winners/