CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The owners of two different million-dollar Powerball tickets collected their checks in Charleston Monday.
Twin sisters Penny Fitzpatrick and Pam Garretson, bought their winning ticket at Quinn Service Center in Crab Orchard, while Ricky Hall of Arnoldsburg bought his at Duke Oil in Ripley.
Fitzpatrick and Garretson said they will, as always, share the money and use it to help others.
“We have a lot of family and we’re going to take care of them,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’m going to take care of my children and my husband.”
“My husband got hurt ” Garretson said. “He broke his leg four months ago and has not worked, so this will work out good for us.”
While this is the largest amount they have won, it is not the first time the twins have picked winning numbers.
Between the two, they have collected winnings of $10,000, $25,000 and $100,000, along with many smaller prizes.
The two said they enjoy playing the lottery and will continue to do so responsibly.
“Don’t get us wrong, we’re not one that runs out and plays thousands of dollars,” Fitzpatrick said. “We play with what we got and we pay our bills and we have good credit. Instead of buying me a pair of shoes, I go play the lottery.”
The other winner, Hall was in disbelief when he found out he had won.
“There was another guy at the counter who had a scratch-off ticket and we lined all the numbers up and he said ‘You won a million dollars.’ Of course, I’m not going to tell you what I told them,” he said with a laugh.
Hall plans to put the money toward putting his three children through college and also pay off debts.
When asked if he was going to spend any of the money on himself, Patty Hall, his wife, said they would try to take a vacation.
“We’ve always wanted to go out west,” she said. “Go to the Grand Canyon, take in California and some of the State Parks. Never had the time or the money together at the same time, so I think that’s what we’ll do.”
West Virginia as a whole has experienced a recent stroke of luck with the lottery since the beginning of the year.
John Musgrave, director of the West Virginia Lottery, said since January, there have been 10 million-dollar winners in the state.
Tuesday, a $2 million winner will claim their prize, giving West Virginia three different winners, of at least $1 million, from the recent drawing. This is the highest total in West Virginia history, according to Musgrave.