John and Lisa Robinson, of Munford, Tennessee, say they have one of the winning tickets…but they went public on the Today show before even making it official with the Lottery!
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The Associated Press could not immediately verify the Robinsons’ claim.
John Robinson, front right, arrives at the Tennessee Lottery headquarters with his wife, Lisa; daughter, Tiffany, center; and family dog Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn.
Two winners have stepped forward, claiming they bought tickets that matched all five numbers and the Powerball number. The winning ticket was purchased at a 7-Eleven located at 4092 Chino Hills Parkway in Chino Hills.
None of the winners have come forward thus far. Winners must present their tickets to lottery officials for verification.
“Now I’ll be nervous because everybody knows”, Robinson told his interviewers on the “Today” show set, where he appeared with his wife, daughter and lawyer.
“I didn’t know exactly what do to, ” John said. John said. “I really didn’t feel like stopping that night, but I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll stop.’ I came home, and I wasn’t feeling good, and I handed the tickets to her and said, ‘I’m going to go lay down”‘.
The other winning tickets were sold in Chino Hills, California, and Melbourne Beach, Florida. Each one overcame odds of 1 in 292.2 million to land on all the numbers.
If they choose to take a lump-sum payment, they would receive around $533 million, which would be about $327.8 million after taxes.
A Pomona nurse identified by her employer as the victor of the record-breaking Powerball jackpot did not win, her family told ABC News. Seven tickets winning $50,000 were sold in the state.
Friends say John is an engineering consultant in Memphis, while Lisa works for a dermatologist, also in Memphis.
The Powerball jackpot now resets at $40 million. The identities of the California and Florida winners are unknown at this time.
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The cycle will start again on Saturday night when the next Powerball drawing will have an estimated jackpot of $US40 million. A Rechnitz spokesperson tells BuzzFeed that the nurse is a “wonderful lady and an incredible employee” who stayed to finish her shift even when she thought she had won $1.6 billion.
