Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

'Divine intervention' helped N.J. family win $429.6M Powerball

Friday the 13th will never be the same for the Smith family, which stepped forward Friday to claim a $429.6 million Powerball jackpot, the largest ever won in New Jersey.

Pearlie Mae Smith (center), daughters Rene Bethina Smith (left) and Katherine Nunnally, and five of their siblings will share the jackpot from last weekend's winning $429.6 million Powerball ticket, bought at a 7-Eleven in Trenton.
Pearlie Mae Smith (center), daughters Rene Bethina Smith (left) and Katherine Nunnally, and five of their siblings will share the jackpot from last weekend's winning $429.6 million Powerball ticket, bought at a 7-Eleven in Trenton.Read moreAP Photo/Mel Evans

Friday the 13th will never be the same for the Smith family, which stepped forward Friday to claim a $429.6 million Powerball jackpot, the largest ever won in New Jersey.

Pearlie Mae Smith and her seven adult children said they plan to tithe 10 percent of their winnings to their Pentecostal church, take vacations, and help others.

"Wow. That's what it's like," Smith, 70, of Trenton, said at a news conference at state lottery headquarters in Lawrenceville. "I'm still trying to figure out what it's like."

The amount won with the single winning ticket was the sixth-largest total in Powerball history.

The family chose the lower lump-sum option over the higher-value annuity, making the ticket worth $284 million before taxes.

"I just want you to know that anything can happen in New Jersey," said Valerie Arthur, the family spokeswoman.

The family delayed coming forward while it hired a team of lawyers, an accountant, a money market manager, a life coach, and a security detail. Family members also met with previous jackpot winners. Arthur said they needed advice on how to handle their winnings. Family members disclosed few details about their background.

"How many of you have $284 million?" she asked reporters, laughing. "What would you do with it? We didn't want to fail. We know we are inexperienced."

The family won with a $6 investment. Smith bought two $2 tickets, one each for drawings May 4 and last Saturday, and spent an extra $1 on each ticket to get the "Power Play" option, which multiplies the winnings.

A pastor at a church in Trenton, Smith said she rarely gambles. She said that the numbers "popped into her head" and that she was compelled to follow her intuition and play them.

The winning numbers were 5-25-26-44-66, and the Powerball was 9.

"Divine intervention provided the winning numbers to my mother in a dream," Arthur said. "That's the only way you can explain it. No birthdays. No anniversaries."

Smith purchased the tickets at a 7-Eleven store on Chambers Street in Trenton. Store owner Andrea Shinn received a $30,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

Arthur said she thought her sister Marsha-Ann Smith of Trenton was playing a belated April Fool's joke when she called and said, "Guess who won the Powerball."

"It was a big shock," Arthur said. "It was a bigger shock when we learned we were the only ticket holder."

Arthur, joined by five sisters, a brother, and their mother at the news conference, said the family will split the jackpot eight ways and likely pay off mortgages and student loans.

Arthur, who retired last year as administrator at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, said she plans to take a long-overdue trip to celebrate her retirement.

She said the jackpot was an "affirmation from God" for family members to work in their community. Her siblings have no immediate plans to quit their jobs. In fact, their bosses probably learned about their win from the news conference, she said.

"Thank you, Jesus," Tracy Smith of Trenton said as the family posed with a giant lottery check replica.

Another sister, Katherine Nunnally of Newark, said she planned to use a portion of her winnings to fund a mentoring program for at-risk women.

Their brother, Steven, of Trenton, said he planned to take care of his children. "It's not about flashy clothing or cars," he said. "I have a family."

Arthur said the family expects lots of requests for assistance and plans to carefully select people and organizations to help.

"Everyone we know will come out of the woodwork. We get to choose," she said, adding that "we are very good at saying no."

Arthur posted on her Facebook page: "Friday the 13th will never be the same. I'm out."

"They're turning Friday the 13th into not just a lucky day but a blessed day," said Carole Hedinger, the lottery's executive director.

Powerball is played in 44 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The odds of winning are one in 292.2 million.

The jackpot had begun rolling over since it was last won March 2. A Florida man claimed the $291.4 million prize in that game.

In January, the largest jackpot in lottery history - $1.6 billion - was split by three winning tickets, sold in California, Florida, and Tennessee.

mburney@phillynews.com

856-779-3814 @mlburney

This article contains information from the Associated Press.