Man Hits Lottery, Tells Boss: "I'm Out"

Check In Hand, Ford Motor Co. Worker Quits Job Of 34 Years To Follow Dreams

(AP)  David Sneath has worked at a Ford Motor Co. parts warehouse for 34 years, but it didn't take him any time at all to walk out once he discovered he had won a $136 million Mega Millions jackpot.

"I yelled to the boss, 'I'm out of here,'" Sneath said Thursday after going to state lottery headquarters in downtown Lansing to pick up his first $1 million check.

Sneath, of Livonia in suburban Detroit, said the reality of his win has yet to sink in.

"I still haven't touched base with Earth yet," he said. When he saw in a newspaper that he had a winning ticket, "my whole body went numb."

Sneath plans to buy a cottage on Mullett Lake in northern Michigan and maybe a new fishing boat or two to help him land the walleye he loves to catch. He's tired of misplacing his glasses and may get laser surgery to correct his vision. And he'll probably move out of his three-bedroom, two-bath ranch home, although he plans to stay in Michigan.

He's even considering a return to Eastern Michigan University to finish his bachelor's degree. He's eight credits shy of a major in warehousing and a minor in international marketing.

Sneath turned 60 on Tuesday, the day he won the jackpot. Friends and relatives at first thought it was an April Fool's joke.

"I called my sister; she didn't believe me. I called my daughter; she thought I was nuts," said Sneath, who said he made his first call to his ex-wife, Deborah.

Deborah, whom he called "my significant ex," attended the Thursday news conference where Sneath was presented with a large replica of a $136 million check. His daughter was there with her daughter, as was his son, who had bought the winning ticket on his father's behalf during trip to a gas station to get cigarettes.

Sneath plans to take a lump payment worth $84.3 million, or $59.6 million after taxes. On Thursday, he got the first $1 million; he'll get the remainder in a second payment. At the warehouse, he made $60,000 to $70,000 a year.

A self-described "character," Sneath generally kicked in $6 a week with four co-workers at his job in Brownstown to buy lottery tickets, spending half the money on tickets for Tuesday's draw and half for Friday's.

This time, his son bought him $15 worth of tickets, picking numbers Sneath suggested. The winning combination - 4, 17, 26, 46 and 56, plus 25 for the Mega Ball - were numbers Sneath once got as a random pick and continues to play.

But his four co-workers didn't entirely lose out. He plans to give them $1 million each out of his winnings.

Sneath said he doesn't have any big plans for the money, but noted none will go toward buying a big, new foreign car.

"I worked for Ford Motor Co.," he said. "I won't be buying a foreign product."

Sneath's $136 million jackpot may seem like a lot, but it doesn't even come close to the record. The largest Mega Millions jackpot was $390 million in March last year, given to two winners in Georgia and New Jersey.

Mega Millions is a multistate lottery game offered in Michigan, California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington state. Jackpots start at a guaranteed $12 million and grow when no one wins the jackpot.

[rhs648]

Hey, I buy lottery tickets every week. I only spend 10 dollars. If someone can''''t afford the money to play, but do it anyways, that''''s not anyone''''s fault but their own. Shame on them, not the rest of us. Your silly talk is just supporting the welfare state. If these people didn''''t have welfare to fall back on, they''''d make more of an effort to get their lives together because they''''d have to. With welfare, the government does it for them. Generation after generation. That''''s what these people now believe is their God-giving right - to freeload off the rest of us TAXPAYERS in America.

Posted by TheGateway1

It takes guts to tell the truth. Welfare, at the expense of hard working taxpayers, tends to make many recipients lazy. We have many aimless young people who resulted from women using the system to increase their incomes. Welfare has decimated family life where parents never marry and each child is fathered by a different person. Too often, the offspring are raised on the street rather than in loving and stable family environments.

[tedhaggis]

My uncle rules! www.theoandavirus.com

[honestabe8]

grammawhamma: he does get less than $60 million, but the difference between that and the winning amount ($136 million) is not entirely taxes. i believe what gets taxed is not the $136 millon, but the present value of a stream of payments.

[thomderr]

I''m going to get his job at that parts warehouse!

[mediapreachr]

'' the food on an ordinary mans plate that might not even consist of meat,
Posted by croft777 at 07:39 PM : Apr 04, 2008''
If we get to that stage-no meat in the stew...Then I know for sure I''m poor.
Here''s some technical terms with the "fancy"removed:
-manufacture,blue collar jobs-you''re entitled to a piece of the pie.
-"globalization"-service economy,slums,etc-What''s a pie??

[caldwellptr]

And show me 1 tax cut the Republicans passed that helps the little people and not the super rich.

As Leona Helmsly said, "Only the little people pay taxes."

[termtex01]

"Why the republicans have been doing it to the little people for way too long.
Posted by croft777 at 07:39 PM : Apr 04, 2008"

Show me one tax decrease the Democrats have submitted that helps the ''little people'' during the last 20 years.

[croft777]

And Democrats want to tax the rich even more than they (and this guy) are now.TheGateway1

Why the republicans have been doing it to the little people for way too long. Who do you think it hurts the worse? The rich who might have to spend less on those things that they really don''t need, thats not even a necessity, or the food on an ordinary mans plate that might not even consist of meat, give me a break.

[speakinup]

If you weren''t happy before winning, most likely you won''t be happy after winning.

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Abraham Lincoln

[michellem99-2009]

ENJOY IT..use it properly..

[michellem99-2009]

HA HA..NO THANK YE..I won''t play the numbers, They can deside not to pay if ye win..

[mediapreachr]

"This story is propaganda/advertising for the voluntary poverty tax that the lotteries have too often become.
Posted by Dronemonk at 03:58 PM : Apr 04, 2008"
You couldn''t be more right...They even started advertising in spanish to play the lottery.
Have you noticed that for every public hospital that is closed,a new casino it''s been open.In texbooks they call this practice-survival of the fittest.

[timdgrim]

Right On David!! Enjoy...Now I''m off to get tonight''s Mega Million Ticket!

[cfin5]

Good for him! I''d sure be nice to say that someday :)

[termtex01]

"The price some pay for fame.

He''''s essentially getting welfare too. Though it''''s paid for by and large by the folks who buy the tickets... what if people took the same money and applied it to something other than avarice? They''''d be helping others and themselves; not just helping others, thinking they''''ll win and help themselves.

Posted by hypnotoad72 at 03:40 PM : Apr 04, 2008"

Hey, I buy lottery tickets every week. I only spend 10 dollars. If someone can''t afford the money to play, but do it anyways, that''s not anyone''s fault but their own. Shame on them, not the rest of us. Your silly talk is just supporting the welfare state. If these people didn''t have welfare to fall back on, they''d make more of an effort to get their lives together because they''d have to. With welfare, the government does it for them. Generation after generation. That''s what these people now believe is their God-giving right - to freeload off the rest of us TAXPAYERS in America.

[termtex01]

"I think it is nice he won...he sounds like a decent guy.
What I think rots is that he won $136M and ends up with less than $60M after taxes.
Posted by GrammaWhamma at 05:27 PM : Apr 04, 2008"

And Democrats want to tax the rich even more than they (and this guy) are now.

About only getting less than 60 million, that''s a bummer. Bet his friends are ticked they are only getting 1 million each when it coulda been 2 or 3 million. How ever are they gonna get by on a measly million? :)

[termtex01]

"This story is propaganda/advertising for the voluntary poverty tax that the lotteries have too often become.

Posted by Dronemonk at 03:58 PM : Apr 04, 2008"

...he said as he purchases a kegger and two Powerball tickets at the Circle-K.

[elkc]

At least he can now buy a Ford and afford to drive it. Over all though, congrats! Best wishes for his life, his happiness and fellow American Workers!

[grammawhamma]

I think it is nice he won...he sounds like a decent guy.

What I think rots is that he won $136M and ends up with less than $60M after taxes.

[stezzer]

Brilliant story. He seems like a nice, hardworking chap, and it gives the rest of us some hope...just proves it can happen.

I hope he enjoys every penny.