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By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN, Associated Press Writer 44 minutes ago
David Sneath has worked at a Ford Motor Co. parts warehouse for 34 years, but
it didn't take him any time at all to walk out once he discovered he had won a
$136 million Mega Millions jackpot.
"I yelled to the boss, 'I'm out of here,'" Sneath said Thursday after going to
state lottery headquarters in downtown Lansing to pick up his first $1 million
check.
Sneath, of Livonia in suburban Detroit, said the reality of his win has yet to
sink in.
"I still haven't touched base with Earth yet," he said. When he saw in a
newspaper that he had a winning ticket, "my whole body went numb."
Sneath plans to buy a cottage on Mullett Lake in northern Michigan and maybe a
new fishing boat or two to help him land the walleye he loves to catch. He's
tired of misplacing his glasses and may get laser surgery to correct his
vision. And he'll probably move out of his three-bedroom, two-bath ranch home,
although he plans to stay in Michigan.
He's even considering a return to Eastern Michigan University to finish his
bachelor's degree. He's eight credits shy of a major in warehousing and a minor
in international marketing.
Sneath turned 60 on Tuesday, the day he won the jackpot. Friends and relatives
at first thought it was an April Fool's joke.
"I called my sister; she didn't believe me. I called my daughter; she thought I
was nuts," said Sneath, who said he made his first call to his ex-wife,
Deborah.
Deborah, whom he called "my significant ex," attended the Thursday news
conference where Sneath was presented with a large replica of a $136 million
check. His daughter was there with her daughter, as was his son, who had bought
the winning ticket on his father's behalf during trip to a gas station to get
cigarettes.
Sneath plans to take a lump payment worth $84.3 million, or $59.6 million after
taxes. On Thursday, he got the first $1 million; he'll get the remainder in a
second payment. At the warehouse, he made $60,000 to $70,000 a year.
A self-described "character," Sneath generally kicked in $6 a week with four
co-workers at his job in Brownstown to buy lottery tickets, spending half the
money on tickets for Tuesday's draw and half for Friday's.
This time, his son bought him $15 worth of tickets, picking numbers Sneath
suggested. The winning combination 4, 17, 26, 46 and 56, plus 25 for the Mega
Ball were numbers Sneath once got as a random pick and continues to play.
But his four co-workers didn't entirely lose out. He plans to give them $1
million each out of his winnings.
Sneath said he doesn't have any big plans for the money, but noted none will go
toward buying a big, new foreign car.
"I worked for Ford Motor Co.," he said. "I won't be buying a foreign product."
Sneath's $136 million jackpot may seem like a lot, but it doesn't even come
close to the record. The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $390 million in
March last year, given to two winners in Georgia and New Jersey.
Mega Millions is a multistate lottery game offered in Michigan, California,
Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas,
Virginia and Washington state. Jackpots start at a guaranteed $12 million and
grow when no one wins the jackpot.