The winners of the then-record $365 million Powerball lottery jackpot were announced at a press conference at the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln. Back row, from lefc: Robert Stewart, Alain Maboussou, Dung Tran, Eric Zornes and David Gehle. Front row, from left: Chasity Rutjens, Quang Dao and Michael Terpstra.
Fifteen years ago today, the eight winners of what was then the nation's largest lottery jackpot stepped forward to raucous applause at a press conference in Lincoln, describing hiding out for 3½ days and feeling the uncertainty of sharing a $365 million jackpot.
When the eight co-workers of the Cook's ham plant in Lincoln won the record Powerball jackpot, they called Lincoln attorney James Hoppe.
Hoppe said he shared a couple of beers and a shot of Crown Royal with the winners, but they didn't appear to be "living it up."
Brian Rockey was at a gala at a downtown bank when he got a call about 11 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2006.
The winners were: Dung Tran, Quang Dao, Eric Zornes, David Gehle, Michael Terpstra, Robert Stewart, Alain Maboussou and Chasity Rutjens. All eight took the cash option and, after taxes, each received about $15.5 million.
One by one the winners stepped to the podium to talk about becoming instant millionaires. The loudest reactions came when the winners said they planned to stay in Nebraska. All had worked at the steam-belching ham-processing plant from three to 22 years.
Dung Tran purchased the winning ticket along with some 50 other tickets at a U-Stop convenience store, about two blocks from the plant.
He hid the winning ticket in his underwear beneath his blue jeans until it was turned in to lottery officials the day before the press conference, during a meeting at their attorney's office.
The eight represented a melting pot of Americans suddenly transformed from punching a time clock to pondering multimillion-dollar bank accounts.
NEBRASKA POWERBALL WINNERS
In this 2006 photo, employees enter and leave the Conagra Foods ham-processing plant in Lincoln, where eight co-workers were the holders of the winning $365 million Powerball ticket.
In 2006, the winners of the then-record $365 million Powerball lottery jackpot were announced at a press conference at the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel. The press conference was carried on live television and featured a throng of reporters and photographers worthy of a presidential visit.
Top row, from left: attorney James Hoppe, Robert Stewart, Alain Maboussou, Dung Tran, Eric Zornes and David Gehle. Bottom row, from left, Chasity Rutjens, Quang Dao and Michael Terpstra. The winners of what was then the nation's largest lottery prize were revealed at a press conference in the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel in February 2006.
Siena Francis house residents receive gift cards to buy Christmas presents, courtesy of Alain Maboussou, the former meatpacking plant mechanic who shared a Powerball winning ticket with seven other co-workers in 2006. Maboussou made yearly donations of $20,000 for Christmas shopping trips for Siena Francis guests.
Bob Pagani, a man claiming to be an out-of-work truck driver who had won the $365 million Powerball jackpot, turned out to be a hoaxer. His hoax started falling apart as reporters questioned discrepancies in Pagani's story, including how the ticket was purchased.
Powerball lottery winners, Erica, right, and David Harrig, of Gretna, who won $34.1 million in December 2013.
Theresa Gulizia, co-owner of the Speedee Mart, gets another phone call about the winning Powerball ticket sold at her store in December 2013.
Check out this history of Nebraska Powerball jackpot winners.
