"Down-To-Earth" Couple Wins $270M Jackpot

Mega Millions Fortune For Small-Town Georgia Pair, Who Lived In Trailer; Had Declared Bankruptcy Twice

(CBS)  Tonya Harris describes herself and her husband, Bobby Harris, as "down-to-earth" people.

Now, add "very rich" to that!

The couple bought the sole winning ticket for the top prize in Friday night's $270 million Mega Millions drawing.

He told Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez Monday it hasn't sunk in yet. She says it's starting to.

They'd been living in a trailer in the tiny town of Portal, Ga., and records show the ironworker and his wife had declared bankruptcy twice.

Bobby picked the numbers and Tonya bought the two $1 tickets just hours before the drawing.

Bobby used the birth dates of five of their six grandchildren to pick the winning numbers: 7, 12, 13, 19, 22. Tonya says she's still not sure what prompted Bobby to pick the all-important Mega Ball number of 10, which made the difference between winning the $270 million or $250,000.

The Harrises have two daughters who also live in Portal, and plan to take the winnings as a lump sum, which would leave them with $164 million before taxes.

Bobby wasted no time checking into Atlanta's Ritz Hotel, from which he and Tonya spoke to Rodriguez.

"It was something different," he admitted. "Not a suburban lodge, anyhow!"

Tonya says, "My husband called my daughter to get the birthdays right of the grandchildren. We know -- he knows them, but he wanted to make sure. Five out of six of the grandchildren, he picked their numbers. We have one, Cody, that's Dec. 30 -- Bobby decided to play 10 for the Power (Mega) Ball instead of 30. Why, is beyond me. I mean, I never have even asked him that. But it was just unreal."

Bobby says his boss found it hard to believe he'd won, and was quitting: "When I told him that I did hit and I wasn't coming back, he realized that it's true. He asked me to give it back for a few weeks and finish what I was doing, but I told him, 'No, thank you.' "

Tonya says she didn't believe Bobby at first, either.

"When he come home with the ticket," she told Rodriguez, "I asked him, you know, 'Can I look at it?' I checked it off with the printout, it really didn't sink in. I mean, I said, 'Well, someone's made a mistake.' Oh, you know, you never think you're gonna win. So, when we went to claim the ticket and they told us we won, it got a little exciting. Got a little screaming and crying there, but yeah. It's real."

Winning, Bobby says, is "just great. To know I won't have to go ask for a job or work for somebody else, that I can finally stay home and enjoy my grandkids."

Tonya added, "I hope everything will just stay normal. I really want the normal life. We'd just like to have a home and some land and things for the grandkids and to help our kids out and our family. But that's as far as we want to go.

"We don't want to live -- I mean, I know we could probably go anywhere we want to go, but that's not us. We're just down-to-earth people, and we want to stay close to home."

[excoachken]

Congratulations. Now get an honest lawyer and a tax accountant and hide from all relatives for three months.

[oeangus]

LOL @ CoachKen. And all those relatives you never knew existed.

[rational_1]

They seem like nice people - I hope this windfall doesn''t turn out to be a downfall.

[genesauto]

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Honest Lawyer...That''s the best oxymoron I''ve heard recently. A good CPA should be able to cover all the bases pretty well.

[blogthis1]

Lets see how much they have left in 5 years.

[rosevk]

Good for them. . .who cares if they spend it all in 5 years or 5 months or 5 days, they''ve been struggling with little all these years it won''t be hard for them to start over if they have to and at least they''ll have a chance to enjoy the good life with their family for a while. It''s wonderful to have people win that are simple and humble like Tonya and Bobby instead of some wealthy greedy person who already has too much and just wants more and more. . .

[ffra78]

wow..wonderful..very lucky hoping they wont blast that money

[mythoughtsr]

Since it can''t be me...I''m glad it''s them. They seem like nice people. Good luck to them and their family.

[marcpcbs]

It%u2019s stupid to put so much money in one family%u2019s hands.

With this amount of money they should have taken half the winnings out for taxes off the top, and then divide the remaining 135 mil into 67 separate 2 mil+ winners tax free.

With 2 million the average family could use one million to get out of debt, put aside college money for the kids, fix up the house, buy a couple of new cars and take a nice vacation. Then put the second million in a secured 10% account and receive $ 100,000 per year from then on.

This would help 67 families instead of just one.

[badfish911]

Congrats!
now go buy some toofers would ya?

[tngreen]

Could this article possibly dehumanize this couple more? The headline refers to them as "trailer dwellers," ala "cave dwellers," and the article reveals intimate details of their prior financial status (bankruptcy). Why do some journalists have to be pigs? Do they think that''s the only way to "sell papers"? This human interest story would sell itself without having to degrade this lucky couple.

I hope they buy the human interest section of CBS online and fire this writer!

[dylanxxv]

If they have any kind of conscience at all they will pay their debtors they skrued over in the two bankruptcies...

[easeup-2009]

Posted by USAyesterday at 11:11 AM : Feb 25, 2008

You are so right--I wouldn''t tell anyone. If I did I think I would go crazy with paranoia--thinking someone''s going to take my kids or something.

[hissteps4u]

marcpcbs you cant be that ignorant.

There has not been a 10% interest bearing account available in over 20 years anywhere. The best they can hope for is 6% in a Money Market fund even the banks do not go over 6%. What country do you live in? LOL

[mikeys151]

Who is your headline writer? It makes these folks sounds like vermin! But I do agree with the comment that these lucky folks should pay back their bankruptcy - that would be the right thing to do!

[last121868]

You crack me up, easeup..

[rosevk]

I agree the headline is biased, if a wealthy millionaire won would the headline read ''mansion dweller''?

[bobnjersey]

[1. DON''''T PUBLICIZE YOURSELF!!!

2. Hire a lawyer, financial adviser, and a tax professional.

3. DON''''T PUBLICIZE YOURSELF!!!

4. Put the money in liquid, interest bearing accounts within the first 24 hours for the short term until an investment strategy is developed.]
[Posted by USAyesterday at 11:11 AM : Feb 25, 2008]

i''ve actually seen an investment advisor who specializes in large windfalls say that you should have a trust set up and have the trust as the recipient of the winnings ... and somehow they can abstract the recipients of the trust. not sure if this is true or not ... but they will now be deluged w/ soliciations from everywhere for contributions and other financial assistance.

[lambofgoth]

It''s always entertaining to see these guys blow their money within a year. I hear the whole town is excited... they should be. They will probably get a lot of it out of these fools...

[lambofgoth]

With all that cash, I hope they buy her a good bra.

[salty1954]

What an elitist headline!

I''m sure these ''trailer dwellers'' can buy and sell the fat butt of the headline writer ten times over!

[lynnmcdaniel]

I am so happy that a family in need won the dream of a lifetime. Wish it was me but very happy for this family and their children.

Congratulations$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ :)

[texanscouser]

If these two stay married i would be very suprised. He is all of a sudden going to find very friendly georgous young women after him.

[justsayinit]

What does their living in a trailer have to do with anything? Would the headline have been the same if an extremely financially successful person or mid-income suburbanite had won? Your headline writer should be taken to task. A man is not defined on the inside by the edifice he dwells in. Shame on you! And by the way...yes, I do live in a manufactured home. I sold my home in the city and moved to the country to build. In the meantime, I am living in a manufactured home (TRAILER) that is nicer than the very nice home I previously lived in.

[irishbitch12]

Congratulations and hire a good lawyer like yesterday.

[puzzler125]

First and foremost they need to get an unlisted phone number and a good business manager because they will need expert financial advice. Friends, relations, and strangers will be coming out of the woodwork begging for money and asking them to invest.

[easeup-2009]

The more I read the headline, the funnier it gets.

"Trailer dwellers?" It would have been funnier if it was "Tree dwellers" or "Sewer dwellers" or maybe even "Hole dwellers."

[lochlan-2009]

At a low, easy to find, fixed rate investment, that''s a good few million $$$ a year after taxes forever, more if they only take a couple million and rollover the additional. Invest globaly, stay fixed, and watch for the sharks. Also, employ your family rather than give them money, and tieup as much of your money as possible so that it is inaccessible from the parasites.

[homespunlady]

Anyone that has EVER taken a DECENT STATISTICS class that addresses GAMBLING is aware that the HOUSE ALWAYS WINS.

They do it by setting the odds to INSURE a percentage no matter WHO wins or loses - the house could care less WHO. The only thing that matters with "the house" is ENCOURAGING MORE FOOLS to PAY THEIR PERCENTAGE!

Sadly, ODDS ARE that many more of those BROKE "trailer dwellers" will overlook their recent "consumer reluctance" and rush out to buy lottery tickets in HOPE that they too can become rich.

The lottery is NOTHING more than a RECESSIVE TRICK to get PRIVATE INVESTORS and GOVERNMENT MONEY without the "hassle" of taxes from the most gullible and economically foolish in this nation.

This article is nothing more that a slickly crafted ADVERTISEMENT to that gullible group.
Next up, "Homeless VET WINS!!".
We''ve ALREADY had a spate of "poor cashier stuck with ticket wins" etc. stories.

Keep your money, feed and take care of your kids, LEARN about LESS RISKY ways to "invest" your hard earned cash - it''ll lead to a much happier life.

[slim1h2o]

Trailer dwellers?" It would have been funnier if it was "Tree dwellers" or "Sewer dwellers" or maybe even "Hole dwellers."

Posted by easeup at 01:35 PM : Feb 25, 2008

You''d think, that CBS news has an agenda. And we''d be right!

Who cares what they live in. All I know, they won''t be for long,, if they choose.

Good for them!!! Wished it was me,,but not jealous either.

[inventagod]

White House dwellers kill thousands of innocent Iraqis for their oil!

...and the only thing they will win is future indictments...

Come on, CBS, let''s do some REAL reporting this week!

[texanscouser]

the lottery is a tax on hope

[easeup-2009]

LOL CBS changed their headline!!!! I guess they probably received a few calls from angry "trailer dwellers!"

ROFLMAO!!!!

[inventagod]

Kudos easeup
just gettin ready to post same...

[bdbeans]

Good for them. It''s nice to see god working his miracles everyday. I pray that he will guide them and continue to bless them as he''s blessed us all.

[pbdobb]

The lottery is a slippery slope. Pretty soon there will be casinos and strip joints everywhere. And who knows, you may get to see strippers on live TV. Who''s the trash here?

[jetlizhan]

good for them!!!

[easeup-2009]

"Pretty soon there will be casinos and strip joints everywhere."

Posted by pbdobb at 03:57 PM : Feb 25, 2008

You almost make that sound like a bad thing....

[shanev137]

I''ll give it about 5 years before they''re broke again, filing bankruptcy, and living in a trailer.

[boston1954]

Spend it now. Go out to dinner. Get a nice piece of land. Take some vacations. You will not be taking one dime with you later.

[inventagod]

sweetreeeed -
I was just missing the acid years, but you reminded me why I stopped...

[questionnews]

I keep picturing the end of the movie "The Jerk" when the poor parents came into all that money & built themselves a brand new shack that looked just like thier old one only 3 times the size.

[jimfinster]

The money will destroy them and their children. The fate of lottery winners is not pretty.

[beavis5321]

1.) First move out of that hole.
2.) Move to another state
3.) Pay cash for everything
4.) Buy berkshire hathaway.
5.) Give kids nothing except a harvard education
6.) Get a treadmill
7.) shoot drug dealers that offer
8.) enjoy

[gwtwboofy]

Good for these folks! Glad to see somebody win who needs it as opposed to the man who was a multimillionaire who won a few years ago.

veteran71, I''m assuming your comment about Grandpa Jones was satire. He was not murdered. He died in 1998 after suffering a stroke. He did, however, in 1973 discover the bodies of his friend David "Stringbean" Akeman and his wife who had been murdered by robbers.

Seems like a lot of people posting comments on here have a really bad case of ''sour grapes''.

[taylpatr]

I''m very pleased to see a Brother Ironworker finally get paid what he''s worth. I can tell this man has worked hard for a long time. It''s criminal that he had to declare bankruptcy. I had to get out because of health reasons. So are many other Ironworkers, not only for health, but because we''ve been made to take wage cuts and our insurance deductible tripled in 2 years. I don''t know who you people think are going to build your bridges and high-rises after all us old farts retire, but if you have to depend on the ones following us, good luck! And as for Brother Harris, you get on down and get you that bass boat, right after you get that new truck. And do like I did:when they call you and ask if you want those tools back, give a good, loud laugh as you''re hanging up the phone.

[esteplj]

It is unfortunate. People that do not have money typically do not know how to have money. This is apparent with these folks by going public this weekend. Problably should have hired a team of people to teach you how to have money. It''s unfortunate and I wish you luck.

[excoachken]

Wow, I hope this doesn''t mean they have to become Republicans!

[facts6]

These folks do seem like really nice people. They should have NEVER allowed their name and photos of their gchildren to be published. God protect them.

[mediapreachr]

This is your govment advertising for the new racket-to get more of your money.
Lottery-just another name for the fool''s tax.