Lafayette Area Coworkers Claim $200,000 Powerball Prize

For nearly six months, Timothy Landry of New Iberia, Rondon Caesar of Baldwin and two other employees at SMI Companies in Franklin pooled $20 a week to purchase Powerball tickets.  On Oct. 2, the men got the big payout they were waiting for – $200,000 to be exact.

 "When I got to the office Monday morning and looked at the others, I knew they hadn't checked their photocopies of the ticket because they weren't smiling and they had their uniforms on," shared Caesar, age 34.  "It was during our morning meeting that I let them know we were $200,000 richer!"

 Landry, who regularly purchases the group's tickets at Food-N-Fun #18 on North Lewis Street in New Iberia, explained that he put the ticket in his desk drawer for safe keeping and forgot about it until the morning meeting.

"This is unbelievable," shared Landry, age 45.  "We have been pitching in for about six months and this is the first time we ever won anything!"

Landry claimed the prize on behalf of Caesar and two other co-workers.  Both Landry and Caesar shared that they plan to purchase new trucks with their winnings. 

The winning numbers for the Oct. 2 Powerball drawing were 12-20-30-36-47 and the Powerball number was 25.  The group's ticket matched all five white-ball numbers drawn, but missed the red Powerball number to win $200,000.

Ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age. The Lottery encourages anyone who may have a gambling problem or friends and family of anyone with a gambling problem to 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.