Brothers win Lotto on same day, only one becomes millionaire
Two lucky brothers both won Lotto on the same day, but only one became a millionaire.
Senior District Judge James Stocklas, 67, was over the moon to learn he and two friends had won a $291million jackpot on Friday, after he had just finished up a month-long fishing trip with his brother in Florida Keys.
Mr Stocklas and his friends brought $10 worth of tickets, his brother Bob also grabbed a ticket from the same store.
When Mr Stocklas returned home to Pennsylvania, he discovered he had won big.
“Occasionally I play the lottery back home and when I’m in Florida,” Mr Stocklas told Florida Lottery.
“I go to the same restaurant every day for breakfast and before I began drinking my coffee or reading the paper, I pulled up the news on my phone and saw a headline about a Florida Powerball winner”.
Mr Stocklas said he immediately checked his numbers and as luck would have it, he won.
Excited by the victory, he shouted everyone in the restaurant a free breakfast and called his friends to let them know the good news.
Mr Stocklas split the winnings with the friends he purchased the ticket with, a local pool business owner and a woman who chose to remain anonymous.
Each of them will receive over $40million USD after tax.
In an unusual turn of events Mr Stocklas’ brother Bob also had a much smaller win with his ticket, $7 USD.
Mr Stocklas said his first day as a millionaire was a ‘blur’ of champagne and signing papers.
He said he had no plans to give up his job as a senior district judge and planned to use the money to help his family.
