A group of 14 people who played Powerball together in a pool for about 10 years recently hit a $1 million prize.
“Everyone is very happy,” said Darren H., who purchased the ticket for the group. “We called it, as a joke, our retirement fund.”
Members of the group will each get about $25,000 after taxes, and while it’s not retirement money, one member is paying for a daughter’s wedding. Others are using the windfall on home projects, and some will use the winnings to travel.
“It feels pretty special to be able to get this, to help everyone out and give them their winnings,” he said.
The group, which sprang out of an aerospace industry office pool, would only play when the jackpot climbed above a $100 million cash out. In the March 26 drawing, the group hit five out of six numbers, only missing the Powerball number. Had they hit it, the jackpot would have been $181 million with a cash prize of about $118 million.
Winners, in part, hail from Centennial, Denver, Castle Rock and Wyoming. The group played all quick picks, per practice, and Darren bought the winning ticket from a 7-Eleven location in the Promenade at Castle Rock. A couple of the pool players had retired and moved, but remained in the group.
“We are still playing,” Darren H. said. “We are looking for the really big one.”
