88 Million Dollar Man
Last Updated: Monday 25th July 2022, 15:28
A utility worker from Milwaukie, Oregon won the Powerball jackpot of over $182.7 million on Saturday 17 March. He opted to take the prize in cash rather than a series of annual payments, and the result is that he gets $88 million, leading some lottery journalists (namely us) to call him The 88 Million Dollar Man!
The winner has been named as Daniel Gannon, aged 60. Daniel works at the Portland General Electric company and has done so for 35 years. He spent $5 on a Quick Pick ticket at his local Safeway store and the rest, to coin a phrase, is history.
Many lottery players dream about winning so that they can experience at least fifteen minutes of fame. They fantasise about getting their picture in the newspaper, being filmed by a television news team as they collect their cheque and generally living something of a celebrity life, if only for a while.
But not Daniel Gannon. This modest Powerball millionaire politely declined when he was given the opportunity of meeting the press, and he didn't want his photograph taken either. We think that was a good decision, as it allows Daniel to enjoy his multi-millions in relative peace and quiet and without the press intrusion that sometimes drives winners to the point of despair.
The Safeway store which sold Daniel his winning ticket will receive a bounty worth $100,000. We would have thought that selling a ticket that won a jackpot in excess of $182.7 million deserves a bigger bounty than that, but maybe we're just used to seeing Mega Millions be a lot more generous in that respect.
Without compromising Daniel's request for privacy, we can tell you that he is most interested in making trips to see his children who live in various different parts of the USA. He also wants to visit Ireland, though it seems that the "Luck of the Irish" is already something in his possession!