Man Tells Boss `I`m Out Of Here` After Lottery Win But Gives Amazing Farewell To Co-Workers

Friday, April 04, 2008 posted 12:06 PM EDT

On Thursday we told you about a Toronto man who won $14.5 million in the lottery and staged a huge giveaway for his customers to celebrate.

Jose Lima is a jackpot winner who intends to keep his job as a butcher while slowing down a bit.

But David Sneath is the exact opposite. The Michigan man has toiled in obscurity for 34 years at a Ford Motor parts warehouse in the city of Livonia, a Detroit suburb, earning about $60,000 a year. But that was before he discovered he had all the winning numbers in the state's Mega Millions lottery.

Sneath wasted little time after finding out he was the proud owner of a $136 million bounty. He strolled into work on Thursday and told his boss the four little words that will make many workers green with envy: "I'm out of here."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked out the door to begin a new life. The self-described 'character' couldn't believe his dreams had come true. "I still haven't touched base with Earth yet," he laughs, remembering that "my whole body went numb" when he saw the winning numbers printed in a newspaper and realized they were also on his ticket.

It was April Fool's Day.

"I called my sister; she didn't believe me. I called my daughter; she thought I was nuts," recalls Sneath. But his first call was to his ex-wife, who he fortunately still gets along with.

His immediate retirement plans include buying a cottage in the northern part of the state, purchasing a fishing boat and possibly getting laser eye surgery because the 60-year-old is always misplacing his glasses. He'll also be moving into a bigger home and is toying with the idea of going back to college to finish a long interrupted bachelor's degree.

While he's also contemplating getting a new car, the one brand he won't be spending his money on is the automaker that paid him for the past three-and-a-half decades. "I worked for Ford Motor Co.," is all he'll say. "I won't be buying a Ford product."

Sneath accepted a lump sum payment that will leave him with a comfortable $59.6 million after taxes. (Lottery winners in the U.S. have to pay a share of their winnings to the government, while Canadians get their reward here tax free.)

It might be easy to dismiss this new multi-millionaire as a greedy winner, who's going to take his bounty and disappear into bliss. But this story has an interesting twist that will change that impression forever.

It turns out the now ex-auto parts worker always used to kick in $6 a week to buy his lottery tickets with four of his colleagues at the plant. But that didn't happen in this case. Instead, he asked his son to pick up his ticket for him during a stop at a gas station to buy cigarettes. He told him to use the same numbers he once got in a quick pick years ago.

But he hasn't forgotten about the guys who always chipped in week after week, hoping for the big score. He plans to give all four of them something to remember him by - an amazing thank you gift of $1 million each.

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