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. The couple sent copies of the ticket to NBC News, which has done a background check on them and worked to independently verify their ticket as the victor.
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In California, a pro skateboarder is claiming he bought another winning ticket, sold in Chino Hills, Calif. Erik Bragg posted a photo of his winning ticket on Instagram, though some are questioning its authenticity. Those winners have not been announced yet.
Their daughter Tiffany, a recent college graduate, wanted to pay off her student loans and buy a horse. “And I called and eventually got passed up the line and talked to a producer and they were, rightly, a little suspicious, but we talked through it and decided to make it happen”.
Lisa called her boss from the Today show to explain that she wouldn’t be in – but assured them she’d be back to work by Monday.
“We were up all night”, she told the broadcast network.
The family said they bought the ticket at 6:56 Wednesday night, just hours before the drawing.
“I wrote the numbers down and I got to looking and I saw it and looked again”, she said.
John said that they “didn’t know exactly what do to”.
On Friday, the couple told reporters they made a decision to take the lump sum worth over $328 million saying no one is guaranteed tomorrow.
“My first thought was, I’ve always wanted a horse”, she said.
The ticket was purchased by John and Lisa Robinson, while John was on his way home from work. Lottery officials in those states have yet to confirm or identify the winners.
In California, any winnings not claimed within a year automatically go to the state’s schools. The final total for the jackpot was $1,586,400,000 with a cash value of $983,500,000, according to the Texas Lottery. They only play the Powerball when the jackpot gets high.
The announcement of the lottery winners came after the previous 19 draws produced no jackpot winners, and the grand prize rolled over each time. When she realized there was a match, she checked three more times before alerting her husband. The Robinsons bought the winning ticket at local food mart.
A couple went on NBC’s “Today” show to claim they have a winning Powerball ticket that was sold in Munford, Tennessee.
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