Winchester, Indiana
November 14, 2011

Following boss's orders results in $500,000 win
INDIANAPOLIS - Fountain City construction worker William Porter wasn't thirsty Monday afternoon when his boss asked him if he wanted to go to Pak-A-Sak for a soda. Porter even said "no thanks" the first couple times his boss asked him to go. Eventually, Porter decided to ride along.

Once at the store, Pak-A-Sak at 931 East Washington Street in Winchester, Porter decided he'd buy a candy bar and try his luck on a Lottery ticket, so he asked the clerk for a Money Mania Scratch-off.

When the clerk rang up his purchases, Porter discovered the ticket cost $10 instead of the $5 he intended to spend - and for a moment he considered not buying it. Porter went ahead and bought the ticket anyway. He's glad he did because it turned out to be worth $500,000!

"I was in shock!" said Porter who scratched the ticket in the parking lot of the store and then immediately showed it to his boss. "He glanced at it and thought it was a $500 winner. I told him to count the zeros."

Although he counted and re-counted the zeros several times over the next 24 hours, Porter said it still hasn't sunk in that he won half a million dollars.

"I keep asking myself if this is really real," said Porter who has worked construction for nearly 30 years. "We've had to work for everything we've got. It's not been easy."

"This is a blessing for us," said Porter's wife Vanessa who insists the lucky couple plan to take it slow and not do anything impulsive with their winnings.

"We're going to sit down and take our time," added William Porter.

Paying off their house and investing for retirement is at the top of the Porters' list of ways to make their windfall work for them. William plans to buy a new-to-him, but used, Chevy truck to replace his '94 model with 119,000 miles. Vanessa plans to keep her 2004 car because it runs just fine.

The Hoosier Lottery is committed to providing innovative and entertaining lottery games for the benefit of the citizens of Indiana. In fiscal year 2010, the Hoosier Lottery generated $190 million in net income which was used to significantly reduce the motor vehicle excise tax for all Hoosier drivers and also supported the pension funds for retired Indiana teachers, police and firefighters. Player prizes for the fiscal year totaled $456 million and $51 million was earned by Indiana retailers on the sale of Hoosier Lottery products.

Since its inception in 1989, the Hoosier Lottery has produced nearly $4 billion in net income for the citizens of Indiana, nearly $1 billion in commissions and bonuses for participating Indiana retailers, and has paid out more than $8.3 billion in player prizes.

The Hoosier Lottery reminds all players to play responsibly and to always sign the back of their tickets.

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