Machine Operator Claims $60.2M Powerball

Jan 16, 2004, 6:10 am (Post a comment)

Powerball

An electronics plant worker came forward Thursday to claim half of the $221.5 million Powerball jackpot, more than two weeks after she bought the winning ticket.

Lisa Ensor said she had kept the ticket in a safe-deposit box as she sought legal and financial advice. She did not share the news with most friends and family until Thursday, when she presented her ticket to Pennsylvania Lottery officials and opted for the $60.2 million cash payout.

"You can't imagine it's unbelievable," Ensor, 42, said at a news conference. "You just can't comprehend millions of dollars."

Ensor said she and fiance Dale Finkenbiner realized her ticket was the winner around lunchtime on Jan. 1, after checking it against a printout of the winning numbers obtained from the same convenience store where she had purchased it.

"We screamed and jumped and cried," she said.

She has not decided how to spend the money - or even whether to replace her aging Honda - but she resigned from her job at a Tyco Electronics Corp. plant and is planning a larger wedding reception.

A York County native, Ensor said she expects to stay in the area. Finkenbiner said they are going to take a trip together.

They have continued to play the lottery, returning daily to the Rutter's store on Route 30 where she purchased the winning ticket and 59 others for the Dec. 31 drawing.

They watched with amusement as speculation mounted about the unclaimed winnings.

"It was great, because we knew and they didn't," said Finkenbiner, manager of a Goodyear Tire warehouse.

The other half of the jackpot - the fifth-largest Powerball prize - was won by a couple who purchased their ticket in South Carolina.

Norman and Deanna Shue, of Concord, N.C., claimed their share of the prize two days after the drawing.








AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Lisa Ensor, left, a 42-year-old machine operator from York, Pa., listens to media questions before claiming half of the $221.5 million New Year's Eve Powerball lottery jackpot, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2004. Standing with Ensor to the right is her fiance, Dale Finkenbiner. Ensor opted for the $60.2 million cash payout.






Lottery Post Staff

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