NC man wins $15 million Powerball jackpot

Wednesday, April 18, 2007 posted 02:48 AM EDT

A 79-year-old North Carolina man who won a $15 million Powerball jackpot will finally be able to retire from his job, but he doesn't have any grandiose spending plans.

"I'm going to buy me a RC Cola and a MoonPie," Dick Sandlin, the utility worker for North Carolina State Parks said Tuesday during a news conference in South Carolina, where the winning ticket was sold.

With his cash prize, the Navy veteran could buy more than 7.1 million MoonPies, a pastry that consists of graham cracker-cookies with a marshmallow filling.

Sandlin, of Wilmington, came forward nearly two weeks after the numbers were drawn. Since learning they had the winning ticket — with the numbers 19-30-39-40-53 and the Powerball number 16 – he has met with an accountant and lawyers.

Sandlin will take the lump sum payment of $7.1 million, which will amount to around $4.2 million after taxes, lottery officials said.

Sandlin's wife, Colleen, 78, said the winning ticket should have been hers. "He got in the line in front of me and he got my number," she said.

The couple bought the ticket on their way back from Florida at a gas station in Florence, a city near Interstate 95 and close to the North Carolina state line. The store will receive $50,000.

Sandlin recalled chatting with the clerk when he asked for the quick pick, which are computer-generated numbers.

"I asked her, 'Have you ever sold a winning ticket,"' Sandlin said. "She said, 'No, we haven't.' I said, 'Well, I'm going to change your luck."'

It was the fourth time a winning Powerball ticket was sold in South Carolina, but each of the winners have been from North Carolina.

"We're just luckier," Sandlin quipped.

Powerball is played in 29 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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