 Some members of the Dirty Dozen had to leave for work but the rest of the group that claimed the $50,000 Powerball prize are (Back row, left to right) Dereke DeShields, Isaac Hassan, Scott Vickers, Philip Cammarata Jr.; (Front row, left to right) Gregory Bennett, Tony Scott, Peter Ward, Donald Floer. |
No top-tier win raises jackpot to $227 million for Wednesday
Phones were ringing off the hook at 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning in Maryland as members of a self-proclaimed “Dirty Dozen” alerted each other of their $50,000 Powerball win in the Saturday, Dec. 19 drawing.
“I checked the tickets in the middle of the night and saw that we won,” said Tony Scott of Pikesville. “As soon as I saw that we won $50,000, I started calling the other 11 guys.”
“When Tony called, my wife woke up and immediately asked me who died,” joked Gregory Bennett of Pikesville. He purchased the ticket Saturday at Milford Liquors on behalf of the Powerball-playing group of United Parcel Service freight workers. “I did not mind one bit that we were woken up by a phone call like this.”
Tony was able to get in touch with all but one of the guys, Scott Vickers of Baltimore.
“When I finally got the message the next day, I just played it over and over again,” Scott said with a big smile. “I’m excited to add another pinball machine to my collection.”
The other winners are: Philip Cammarata Jr. of Baltimore, Dereke DeShields of Baltimore, Donald Floer of Glen Burnie, Isaac Hassan of Baltimore, Joseph Holston of Bowie, Matthew Junis of Taneytown, William Lewis of Westminster, Peter Ward of Randallstown and a Rosedale man who wished to remain anonymous. The men have more than 241 combined years at UPS. Before taxes, they will each receive approximately $4,300.
Scott and Philip have played the Lottery together for about 20 years, while the others joined in a few years ago. Tony and Gregory usually purchase the Powerball tickets and always make copies to pass out to the group prior to the drawings.
The lucky ticket was purchased at Milford Liquors located at 8100 Liberty Road in Windsor Mill. The group won the $50,000 third-tier prize by matching four white balls plus the Power Ball number. Powerball drawings can be seen at 11:22 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays on WBAL-TV. Wednesday’s drawing has an estimated jackpot of $227 million.