Here’s a great story about a group of FedEx workers who became Powerball winners while playing in their regular Powerball pool.
It’s always exciting and kind of fun to hear about Powerball winning pools that struck it rich as a group. Across the country, thousands of co-workers and colleagues lump their cash together every week to buy a slew of Powerball tickets. And should any of those tickets be a winner, the group agrees to split the winnings among those who participated. Recently, in North Carolina, one such group of colleagues did just that. And this group of FedEx workers is now also a group of Powerball winners, in a big way. Here's the story about The Purple 8.
The FedEx Workers Who Teamed Up Three Years Ago
It was several years ago when “The Purple 8,” a group of FedEx workers at FedEx Freight in Hope Mills, decided to start a Powerball pool. The team of eight co-workers included Michael Walker of Raeford, Derick Hunt of Lumberton, Robert Peterson III of Fayetteville, John Oxendine of Lumberton, Tharp Bordeaux of Elizabethtown, Phillip Freeman of Rowland, Catherine Simpson of Raeford, and Mickey Sessoms of Marston. Together, they dreamed of hitting it big and routinely pitched in to buy Powerball tickets. Finally, their big day arrived.
The Winning Ticket, Thanks to Michael Walker
According to Walker, he had always hoped a winning ticket would come out of Fayetteville. And on that fateful day in April this year, he bought one ticket in Fayetteville for each drawing. He made his official purchase, on behalf of his FedEx Powerball pool, at the Harris Teeter located on Raeford Road in Fayetteville.
The winning Powerball ticket had been a three-dollar purchase and managed to match five white balls in the drawing. It secured The Purple 8 their $1 million, but it was the Power Play that doubled the prize to a cool $2 million. Walker said he was in complete shock when his girlfriend came “running into the backyard screaming and yelling” in excitement. The Purple 8 had finally won.
What the Team Took Home
The Purple 8 collectively showed up to their local lottery headquarters to claim their Powerball prize publicly. Their smiles couldn’t be bigger in their team photo holding the big $2 million check. Together, they agreed to split their winnings equally in eight ways, allowing each FedEx worker $200,000. After the mandatory tax withholdings, each person took home $177,525. There is no word yet describing how each FedEx worker spent their infusion of cash. But all have since remained on the job.
Can Powerball Pools Boost Your Chances of Winning?
In short, yes. Because with a Powerball pool, you’re usually buying more than one Powerball ticket, you have an increased chance of winning. The odds reset for every drawing. So, the only real way to improve your odds is by playing more games for each drawing. Office pools are fun, too, bringing groups of co-workers together for a little weekly Powerball. But there have been some unfortunate fallouts among colleagues when big payouts come into play. It’s best to make sure you have a detailed and agreed-upon outline among your team of co-workers describing how to pitch in, who’s responsible for buying tickets, and how you collectively decide to handle various prize amounts. Make sure everyone participating is in agreement on how to handle any prize before you begin pooling funds and buying tickets.
The Purple 8 hit it big, and it’s just another Powerball winner story that proves anyone can get lucky. Maybe it’s an inspiration for you to get your co-workers and colleagues together at your place of employment. You could create a team name and start playing. Who knows? Your Powerball pool could be the next featured story of everyday work pals hitting it big!