Lottery officials confirm Munford couple is jackpot winner
John and Lisa Robinson insisted Friday they are just ordinary, small town folks.
And that they'll stay that way come Monday.
The only difference is the Munford, Tenn. couple is the winner of a $528 million Powerball jackpot
Tennessee lottery officials announced Friday that the Robinsons won the golden ticket sold in their hometown this week.
The Robinsons, self-proclaimed "common-folks" from a small city about 30 miles north of Memphis, said they'll opt to take the lump sum — just over $327 million.
"You never know if you'll be here tomorrow," John Robinson told a throng of reporters at the Tennessee Lottery headquarters in Nashville.
Working on only several hours of sleep over the past two days, the couple, along with their daughter Tiffany and their dog Abby, appeared energetic at the Friday news conference as they recounted the story of their world-record win.
John Robinson said that while on his way home from work Wednesday his wife asked him to pick up Powerball tickets. He said didn't want to, but he did anyway. So he stopped at Naifeh’s Food Market, purchased four tickets at 6:56 p.m. and then drove home and handed them to his wife.
He said he wasn't feeling well so he went to lie down.
When his wife saw they hit the jackpot, she said she started to cry, then ran down the hallway screaming for her husband.
"Check these numbers!" she recalled telling him after she woke him up.
Robinson said he checked the number four times and then told his wife he'd only believe they won after hearing from state lottery officials that a winning ticket was purchased in Munford.
He's now an admitted believer.
Regardless of the winnings, the couple said they plan to go back to work as usual on Monday.
"You can't just sit down and do nothing anymore," John Robinson said. "How long ya gonna last?"
The Robinsons said one of their priorities is to pay their daughter's student loans off and several other bills. The would also like to splurge on family members too.
They family has asked for people to respect their privacy, admitting they are "common folk from a small town."
Rebecca Hargrove, CEO of the Tennessee Lottery, said officials planned to hand over a few million dollars to the couple Friday. A check for the lump sum will come about 10 days later, she said.
On Wednesday night state lottery officials announced Naifeh's sold Tennessee’s jackpot winning ticket, netting the grocery store a $25,000 prize as part of the designation.
Officials said the Robinsons will share a record jackpot of $1.58 billion with winners in California and Florida. The identities of the California and Florida winners are unknown at this time.
The winners of the record jackpot overcame odds of 1 in 292.2 million to land the numbers drawn — 4-8-19-27-34 and Powerball 10. Winners can take the winnings in annual payments spread over decades or a smaller amount in a lump sum.
The jackpot drawing Wednesday night marked a record-setting day for the Tennessee Lottery, with $18.9 million in tickets sold, Hargrove said. A portion of the money is funneled toward education scholarships.
In addition to the jackpot, a Powerball ticket that won $2 million was sold in Dyersburg in Dyer County, two counties north of Tipton County. There was one $100,000 winner and 17 $50,000 winners, lottery officials said.
State lotto winners may not remain anonymous. Under the Tennessee lottery policy, a person's name, home state and home town are a matter of public record.
Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at 615-259-8072. Follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.