BEST FRIENDS TO SPLIT $1M POWERBALL WIN; Lucky trip to Gatlinburg changes lives forever

NASHVILLE – A quick get-away to Gatlinburg proved to be a life-changing experience for two Midstate friends, who accepted $1 million today after learning of their Powerball win from Saturday night’s drawing. By using the Power Play option, their second-tier prize was multiplied from $200,000 to $1 million since the multiplier was five. Of Tennessee Powerball winners, the friends rank second only to the Hubbard family of South Pittsburg, who won a $25.5 million jackpot in March.

Janis Goodwin, of Nashville, and Frances Davenport, of Woodbury (just outside of Murfreesboro), were elated on Monday morning when they arrived at the Lottery’s Nashville headquarters to collect their prize. CEO and President Rebecca Paul was on hand to share in the excitement.

“We were numb, and then we jumped up and down and screamed!” said Frances. “We’ll take care of our kids first, our debt second, and then we’ll do some research and figure out the rest.”

Frances, 50, is a dog groomer with two children. Janis, 52, is a former computer programmer with two children. The two have been best friends since they met through work in 1982. Today’s celebration just adds to the milestones the two have shared over the years.

”It’s so exciting to create winners of all kinds, from the students and families of Tennessee, to players such as Frances and Janis,” said Paul. “We’re so pleased to mark our sixth win of over $1 million, and look forward to a growing group of million-dollar-plus winners in Tennessee.”

Today’s win marks the first time this new prize level has been won in Tennessee and only the second time among the 29 lotteries who participate in the popular multi-state game. (Recent changes to the game increased the prize for matching five of five white balls from $100,000 to $200,000. With Power Play, this means a player who wins a prize other than the jackpot is also guaranteed to multiply their winnings from two to five times, depending on which multiplier is selected for that drawing.) And while this win is big news, there is still a chance to win the escalating jackpot, now estimated at $180 million for Wednesday’s drawing.

Not only was this a big weekend for Powerball in Tennessee, one winner who purchased a Lotto 5 ticket in Buchanan, in northwest Tennessee, will win the $559,257 jackpot for that game. No additional information is available until the player claims the prize.

Lotto 5 drawings are held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights at 10:34 p.m. CST (11:34 p.m. EST); Powerball drawings are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9:59 p.m. CST (10:59 p.m. EST). Drawings are held every night at 6:28 p.m. CST (7:28 p.m. EST) for the Tennessee Lottery’s other two online games, CASH 3 and CASH 4. Please visit www.tnlottery.com and click on “winning numbers” for complete detailed charts on both drawings.

The Tennessee Lottery began selling its first tickets on January 20, 2004. As of June 30, 2005, the Lottery had raised more than $359 million to fund specific education programs, including college scholarships, pre-kindergarten and after-school programs. For more information, please visit www.tnlottery.com. For information about Lottery-funded scholarships, visit www.collegepaystn.com.

A digital image of the $1 million winners is available to the media by calling Rachel Petrie at 615.324.6555 or email [email protected]