Restaurant Workers Split $4 Million Lottery Jackpot
Posted October 12, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Anyone who’s ever worked in a restaurant knows it can be a lot of things – demanding, difficult and filled with long hours for very little return. But for 16 people who toil at a new Yorkville eatery called “ONE”, there was something unusual on the menu that turned out to be the special of the day – a $4.6 million dollar win in Lotto 6/49.
The workers were telephoned one-by-one with the good news on Thursday and at first many refused to believe it. But it almost didn’t happen. The group, some of whom have worked together at other eateries, had never gone in before on a single ticket. “On Wednesday, I said why are we not doing it here? And we decided to do it,” remembers restaurant manager Tim Salmon. “Sixteen people put the money in and that was it. And the rest is history.”
So how much does each winner get? It’s not quite the fortune that $4 million would suggest. Divided 16 ways, it comes to roughly $287,000 apiece. It’s a nice chunk of change, but certainly not enough to retire on.
Which may explain why the lunch bunch, all between the ages of 21 and 43, wound up coming back to work after being told of their good fortune. And all will continue to show up, secure in the knowledge there’s a little nest egg waiting for them just in case.
Most have already made plans for the money. “Buy a house, keep it away from my girlfriend,” jokes Eric McEwan, the son of the restaurant’s owner and one of the lucky winners. He’s serious about the house, but not the ‘keeping it from the girlfriend’ part. “No. I love her,” he assures. “She’s good. No, I’m going to buy a house with her.”
Santonur Rashed has something equally important in mind. The native of Bangladesh has been sending money home to his wife. Now he plans to bring her over.
Another hopes to pay off some school loans.
Which means the next time someone stiffs them on a tip, it may not sting quite as much as it used to before Thursday, when they ordered the lottery special – and it put a lot of new hope on their plate.
