"SEPTA 48" catch money train: $172M Powerball win

(CBS News) PHILADELPHIA - All it took was $5 and a dream to drastically change the lives of 48 regional rail workers from Pennsylvania.

They work for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, for short, and they've come to be known as the "SEPTA 48."

Last week, they hit the Powerball jackpot for $172 million, which works out to be about $107.5 million after taxes.

They came forward at a news conference Friday, reports Jericka Duncan, of CBS station KYW-TV in Philadelphia.

"I'm like, 'Oh my god, we won! We won! We won!"' Pamela Schurgot told reporters.

At 26, Matt Sheridan is, as he put it, one of the younger winners in the group. "I haven't been here for barely -- not even a year yet," he said.

Daniel Di Santis has 42 years on the job. "When I look at the light of the end of the tunnel," he remarked, "it's no longer a regional rail train coming at me. It's a way out!"

The winners shared stories of survivorship and surprise.

"About four-and-a-half years ago," said Marylou Wagner, "I battled and beat an aggressive stage-three breast cancer. Complications followed my treatment and, on Jan. 10 of this year, I found myself on the operating table again. And I recovered. And returned to work after a long, unpaid absence."

She beat the odds again and won the lottery.

For now these workers are basking in the spotlight, living a life they never imagined.

"Every morning," said Di Santis, "I wake up to my wife and say, 'Boy, I had this dream.' And she says, 'I'm dreaming the same thing, so...!"'

The jackpot works out to about $2 million for each person. One said they actually went half-and-half on a ticket, so they'll only receive about $1 million. But they're not complaining about that at all.

To see Jericka Duncan's report, click on the video in the player above.