Brooklyn Truck Driver Claims $298 Million Powerball Jackpot

“I’m Not Going to Work!”

Originally from Jamaica, Johnson lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works as a truck driver for Iberia Foods, based just opposite the Arnold’s Service Station from which he bought his winning ticket. Speaking about the win, he said that it took a few days for him to get round to checking his ticket.

Johnson said, “A friend of mine called me and said 'Hey Dave! Somebody won the Powerball by the gas station. I turned to myself I said, 'Aw, that's not me, man. That's not my luck.'” Despite his pessimism, the lucky winner took his ticket back to the gas station to check it, and that’s when he found out that he had hit the jackpot.

“I looked at the board and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, Jesus, oh my God’” he said. “I jumped up and down in the store…. I got back in my car, turned the music up and zoomed on home.”

Johnson was presented with his cheque at the Resorts World Casino in Queens on Friday January 25th. “I can’t even eat”, he said. “I start and can’t finish my food. I’m happy with joy inside.” He added that he wouldn’t be returning to work, saying, “I’m quitting right away!”

Johnson opted to take the cash lump sum option of $180 million, which will be worth just over $114 million after federal, state, and NYC taxes have been withheld. He said he planned to buy a new house in Brooklyn for his family, as well as a flash new car. “I always wanted a Porsche, a red one so everyone can see me when I drive on the street,” he said.

2018 Was Big For NY Players

David Johnson’s win capped off a lucky year for New York Powerball players. Nandlall Mangal, a construction worker from Staten Island, won a jackpot of $245 million in August, before Robert Bailey, a retired federal government employee, split a $687 million jackpot with Lerynne West from Iowa, taking home $343 million before taxes.

Bailey’s share of the prize was the biggest jackpot ever claimed in the state of New York, but despite that he said that he would continue to play the lottery. Nandlall Mangal, on the other hand, said that he would invest the money and use some of it to travel the world. He was out of town at the time of the draw and left the winning ticket on his kitchen counter for a week before he got round to checking his numbers.

We’re still awaiting the first jackpot winner of 2019, and the top prize currently stands at $161 million after rolling over since the December 26th drawing. It remains to be seen what this year will bring for Powerball players; will the record $1.58 billion jackpot of two years ago finally be beaten?