The Latest: Tennessee couple getting lottery ticket checked
MUNFORD, Tenn. – The latest on a Tennessee couple that says they won the Powerball (all times local):
1:35 p.m.
A Tennessee couple who says they won a share of the $1.6B Powerball has arrived at lottery headquarters to have their ticket checked.
John and Lisa Robinson walked into the headquarters in Nashville on Friday afternoon and were greeted by the head of the state’s lottery. They did not stop to talk to reporters and were led to a back room to have their ticket looked at.
Lottery officials estimate it will take about 45 minutes to verify the ticket.
The headquarters are located in a large office building. When the Robinsons arrived, office workers in the atrium cheered.
The Robinsons appeared on national television earlier Friday to say they had won. Winning tickets were also sold in California and Florida.
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12:30 p.m.
The mayor of a small Tennessee town where one of three winning Powerball jackpot tickets was sold says he knows the couple who claims they won.
Munford Mayor Dwayne Cole said Friday that he thinks John and Lisa Robinson are not the kind of family that will follow past lottery winners who have squandered their money quickly.
The Robinsons appeared on the “Today” show to announce that they had won. They say they are going to the Tennessee lottery to get their ticket verified later Friday.
The mayor says the Robinsons are “deeply rooted Munford citizens” whose parents lived in the town. He says they appreciate community, family values and have always lived within their means.
Lottery officials in Tennessee have not yet said who the winner is. The other winning tickets were sold in California and Florida.
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11:50 a.m.
The Tennessee couple who says they have one of three winning Powerball tickets is being described as a hard-working, dependable family.
Neighbours say John and Lisa Robinson live in the small town of Munford. John Robinson works in information technology, and Lisa has been employed at a dermatologist’s office in Memphis. The couple is in their middle 50s.
Neighbors Roy and Mary Sue Smith say they have lived next door to the Robinsons since about 1995. Their neighbourhood is a quiet, close-knit suburb of well-kept single family homes.
The Robinsons’ daughter, Tiffany, who lives nearby, is a recent college graduate in her 20s. She went to school at Murray State. The Robinsons’ son, Adam, is an electrician.
The Robinsons appeared on the “Today” show on Friday morning and claimed to have the winning ticket. The Associated Press could not immediately verify the Robinsons claim and lottery officials have so far not announced any winners.
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11:30 a.m.
Workers celebrated at a Southern California nursing home when word spread that a co-worker had a winning ticket for this week’s $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot.
It didn’t take long before several media outlets reported, based on anonymous sources, that the feel-good tale was a prank by the woman’s son.
A spokesman for Brius Healthcare called news media Thursday to relay the story of a nurse winning a share of the jackpot after owner Shlomo Rechnitz bought tickets for his employees.
Spokesman Josh Nass says he was told the nurse’s son sent her a cellphone picture of a ticket.
But the New York Daily News reports the nurse’s daughter says it was an embarrassing prank. The Los Angeles Times reports the daughter asked to remain anonymous to avoid drawing more attention to her family.
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8:20 a.m.
A couple went on NBC’s “Today” show to claim they have a winning Powerball ticket that was sold in Munford, Tennessee.
John and Lisa Robinson appeared in NBC’s studio on Friday and showed a ticket that had the winning numbers from Wednesday night’s record $1.6 billion drawing. The Associated Press could not immediately verify their claim. There have been other hoax claims in the wake of the world-record jackpot and lottery officials have so far not announced any official winners.
The Tennessee couple live near the store where the winning ticket was bought. They say they will reach out to Tennessee lottery officials later Friday.
They say their lawyer advised them to go on TV first as a way of controlling the story.
John Robinson says he bought the ticket and three others Wednesday night while on the way home.
Two other winning tickets were sold in Chino Hills, California, and Melbourne Beach, Florida.
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