A Tennessee family that came forward with one of three winning tickets in the colossal $1.6 billion Powerball drawing exclusively on TODAY Friday said later that they don't plan to quit their jobs or buy a mansion.
The winning ticket was confirmed by Tennessee lottery officials Friday afternoon.
"You just can’t sit down, lay down and not do nothing anymore," said John Robinson, who with his wife will be awarded a $327.8 million lump sum payment. "How long you going to last?"
"We're not guaranteed tomorrow," Robinson said of the decision to take the money all at once, rather than over time, which would pay more in the long term.
Robinson said he and his wife, Lisa, want to pay off the mortgage on their current home, but don't plan to buy a sprawling chateau or the like because "you gotta clean them."
"And I work full time," Lisa said, adding that she'll be back to work on Monday and would appreciate if the media stay away from the dermatologist's office because "I don’t want any problems where they ask me to quit."
The couple revealed their plans to pay off their mortgage and their daughter's college loans at a press conference, which their daughter, Tiffany, and their rescue dog, Abby, also attended.
The family flew to New York to reveal their good fortune on the TODAY Show Friday morning after their lawyer suggested they go public before getting the ticket verified.
John Robinson said he wasn’t nervous traveling or walking around New York with the piece of paper, worth multimillions, because no one knew he had it.
Lisa said the entire experience has been exciting but also overwhelming. “More stress comes with that ticket,” she said. The mother of two said she had always hoped for smaller jackpots when playing the lottery because she never sought out a lavish lifestyle in the past and “I don’t really want that now.”
If she splurges on anything, it will be her family, Lisa said.
“We just wanted a little piece of the pie,” said John, but “I’m really grateful we got a big piece of the pie.”
