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Jump into the (Lottery) Pool: Indiana Co-Workers Win $200,000

I love playing in Lottery pools. They bring people together. And if you win…

I have a book coming out next week (“Lottery: A Guide to American Lotteries”) and one chapter is all about pools. Not only how to form them. But how to prevent arguments within the group, etc. Of course, the chapter is filled with positive stories about winning groups. Much as you’ll read below:

A group of 36 co-workers at Symmetry Medical in Warsaw, Indiana got the weekend of Jan 24-25 off to a great start when they claimed a $200,000 Powerball prize earlier in the week.

A rowdy, jovial group of eight third-shift workers claimed the prize on behalf of the whole group. Some of the winners work first or second shifts and were unable to make the trip to Indianapolis.

The group matched five numbers, but not the Powerball number, in the Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Powerball drawing. The winning numbers drawn were: 20, 26, 38, 46, 54 and the Powerball was 23. The Power Play multiplier was 4.

Most of the 36 live in Indiana’s Wabash and Kosciusko Counties. The core of the group have been playing Powerball together for more than two years with different people playing different amounts each draw. Some of the winners, like Bryan Bartoo of Lagro and Daniel Walters of Warsaw, were playing for only the first or second time.

The $200,000 prize was divided 36 ways with each person claiming an amount proportionate to their $1, $2, $3 or $4 contribution. Each co-worker received a prize somewhere between $1,515 and $15,236 before taxes.

Jeff Foster of Wabash purchased the group’s winning ticket at Village Pantry in Wabash.

He was checking the group’s tickets after the drawing Wednesday night at work when he discovered they had won.

“I was pretty excited,” said Foster. ”I was elated.”

Foster’s co-workers had a slightly less subdued take on the situation. They laughed and joked about Foster’s initial reaction to winning.

“He was a screaming wild man, running accross the shop,” said Bartoo.

Most of the group seemed to share the same approach to spending their winnings, although some joked that they haven’t yet told their wives.

“We’ll probably help out our families or friends,” said Foster. “Bryan’s going to put a lift on his truck.”