They said the first thing they will do is pay off their daughter’s student loans. “I don’t want that now”, said Lisa Robinson. “You need to check these numbers, ‘” John Robinson said.
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They planned to do that immediately after their appearance in the Today show’s NY studio.
California Lottery spokesman Alex Traverso told The Associated Press early Thursday morning that the three previously announced winning tickets in the record $1.6 billion Powerball drawing represent all the grand-prize winners.
John and Lisa Robinson, along with their daughter Tiffany – and their lawyer, Joe Townsend and his daughter Ilene – were featured on the Today Show segment.
Why pass up on a certain income totaling more than $200 million?
A Tennessee couple that won a share of the $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot says they are going to take the lump sum cash payout because they are “not guaranteed tomorrow”. Unlike many of us, Walker won big. “We didn’t get enough sleep”.
The other two winning tickets were bought in the modest Los Angeles suburb of Chino Hills, and at a supermarket in affluent Melbourne Beach, Florida.
Under lottery rules, a victor has up to a year to present a ticket.
The Robinsons appeared on the program before the news could be verified by Tennessee lottery officials. It was Walker’s first-ever lottery ticket even, and one that netted him a cool $2 million -he matched all five numbers (just not the Powerball, womp, womp) and, because he’d added the “Power Play” extra to his ticket, doubled the $1 million normally awarded to winners of this level, CBS Miami reports. And Lisa Robinson said she wants to return to work on Monday, because she “loves her job”. You just can’t sit down, lay down and not do nothing anymore.
On Friday morning, a couple posed for a photo in front of an NBC News van, sparking a conversation about what they’d do with their imaginary millions. “They all got carried away”, the relative said.
John Robinson, center, of Munford, Tenn., arrives with his dog at the Tennessee Lottery headquarters, Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn.
“Well, kind of. Everybody wants to…(but) no it would ruin my life”, Dockery said while laughing.
“Now I’ll be nervous because everybody knows”, he said. “Even after seven years, every once in a while I get a suspicious phone call”.
“My wife said ‘Roy, do you think the Robinsons could’ve won that?’ No…no way”, Roy told FOX13.
When asked during a news conference yesterday why they were going back to work, Lisa Robinson responded “why not?” Lottery officials in those states have yet to confirm or identify the winners.
The Robinsons did ask for privacy on Friday.
Lottery officials said Wednesday night they sold $32,000 worth of tickets by the minute.
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Don McNay, a Kentucky-based financial consultant specializing in assisting individuals who come into sudden money, told the Times that people who win such large amounts typically have difficulty keeping perspective. “The thought is not reporters, but everybody you knew in high school and elementary…”
