New Jersey – The owners of the sole jackpot winning Powerball ticket that was sold by the New Jersey Lottery for the Saturday, May 7th drawing, came to Lottery headquarters to validate the ticket and claim their prize. The claimed the prize as a group win and are named The Smith Family Lottery Pool. They purchased the ticket with a cash option which is valued at $284 million. The group members include:
- Pearlie Mae Smith (mom),Trenton
- Valerie Marie Arthur, Trenton
- Steven Elliot Smith, Trenton
- Jacqueline Sessoms, Trenton
- Marsha-Ann Rebecca Smith, Trenton
- Tracy Angela Smith, Newark
- Katherine Nicole Nunnally, Newark
- Rene Bethina Smith, Trenton
"We are thrilled to meet the fortunate winners and I am extremely pleased that they heeded the recommendation to obtain professional assistance and advice to navigate this life-changing event," Carole Hedinger, New Jersey Lottery Executive Director said. The family also consulted with a life coach and met with previous jackpot winners to learn from their experiences.
The Smith Family Lottery Group spokesperson, Valerie Marie Arthur said, "Divine intervention provided the winning numbers to my mother in a dream." Arthur is a retired corrections administrator. They plan on tithing 10 percent of the winnings to God. "Friday the 13th is now a blessed day."
Mrs. Smith purchased the ticket from the 7-Eleven store, 750 Chambers Street, Trenton in Mercer County. She is a pastor in a church in Trenton and rarely gambles. She said that these numbers popped into her head and felt compelled to listen to the intuition. She purchased one game board for the Wednesday, May 4 drawing and one board for the Saturday, May 7 drawing, which was the winning ticket.