For 20 years, Eric Hale of Bend, Oregon has played the same numbers in the lottery every week. So when he stopped at his local Quick Way Market to pick up a Powerball ticket last month, it was basically a routine, but this time his numbers actually hit. Well, not all of his numbers, because Eric wasn’t lucky enough to also have the correct Powerball number to win a piece of the $228 million jackpot. Instead, the poor guy only picked five correct numbers and had to settle for a cool $1 million. So what does a guy do with that kind of cash?
He gives half of it to his brother to make good on their childhood promise to split any lottery winnings 50/50. Brother of the year? Or sucker of the year? You decide.
“I usually play Powerball, sometimes Oregon’s Game Megabucks, because I like to dream big,” Hale said. “When I was a kid, I promised my brother that if I ever won the lottery, I would split it with him. He was my first call when I realized I won.”
Hale’s brother, Quinn Hale of Yakima, Wash., said he couldn’t believe it when he got the call from his brother, letting him know he was going to keep his childhood promise.
“I didn’t believe him — I still am in shock, even though we have the checks,” Quinn Hale said. “This is beyond cool. I never believed he would actually do it.”
Eric added, “Sure, I could have headed for Costa Rica, but I kept my promise.” . (Via KTVZ in Oregon)
For those preparing their pitches for motorized icebergs at home, once taxes are ripped away from it, the prize comes out to approximately $335,000 each. Not too shabby of a haul. For Eric, that’s enough to pay some bills and make some investments, while allowing him to continue his grad school work. For Quinn, that’s a “down payment on a motorhome.” Um, not to pretend that I’m some fancy pants financial advisor or anything, but why not pay off the motorhome? Unless he’s buying one of those double decker Will Smith mansion motorhomes, in which case I look forward to the story about how he was arrested breaking into his brother’s home to steal $335,000.