Gretna Man Claims $1 Million Powerball Prize on Behalf of Office Pool

The self-proclaimed "Who Dat Ten", an office pool of 10 New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) employees, shared a $1 million Powerball prize from the March 16 drawing. The prize was claimed on the group's behalf by Thang Nguyen, who visited the Louisiana Lottery's headquarters on Thursday with six other group members.

The 37-year-old Gretna resident purchased the Quick Pick ticket that matched all five white ball numbers but missed the red Powerball number in the March 16 drawing. Office pool leader Eugenie Fenerty said the group didn't know they had won until Monday morning because she left the tickets at the office. When she checked the winning ticket Monday morning, she rushed through the hall yelling the good news.

Nguyen received $700,000 after state and federal taxes were withheld and stated that each office pool member would receive $70,000. Nguyen purchased the winning ticket at Discount Center on N. Broad Street in New Orleans. The store will receive a selling bonus of $10,000, which is one percent of the prize.

Fenerty said the group has been playing Powerball since 2010. She joked that she keeps the group's tickets safe in a fireproof lockbox because she "has the biggest dog," but explained that two other members of the group hold the keys to ensure fairness and security. When the group arrived at Lottery headquarters, the ticket was still stashed in the lockbox. Fenerty said most of the group members had been RTA employees for close to 20 years, but Nguyen was their newest member. They said he could stay.

Ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age. Draw-style game tickets must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing. Anyone who may have a gambling problem or friends and family of anyone with a gambling problem should call toll free 1-877-770-7867 for help.

For security purposes, the Lottery strongly encourages players to sign the back of their tickets immediately after purchasing. More information about other Powerball winners can be found in the "Meet Our Winners" section of the Lottery's website.