Jeff Pintuff - $48.8 Million Powerball Winner Keeps Quiet For A Month

What would you do if you won a big Powerball jackpot? If you're like most people, you wouldd run off to the lottery office early the next morning, get your money and then go out and spend, spend, spend!

Jeff Pintuff, of Wilton, New York (Just north of Albany) isn't like most people. He won a $48.8 million Powerball jackpot on Christmas day, December 25, 2010. But he didn't run off to the lottery office to get his money. Nope. He kept quiet for more than a month. Then he finally went in to claim his prize on February 11, 2011.

Why did Jeff wait more than a month to claim his winnings? Well, he wanted to interview financial planners and make sure that he got sound financial advice before claiming his winnings. In the meantime, they didn't tell a single person about their lucky fortune, not even co-workers.

With all of the waiting for the owner of the winning $48.8 million ticket to come forward, it got to the point where people in Albany actually thought that whoever bought the ticket must have lost it. In fact, Jeff, who worked as an industrial tool supplier, remembers a radio show host mention that the big winner has yet to come forward while driving to work early one morning, weeks after he had already won. Everybody was wondering who the big winner was. Only Jeff and his wife, Christine knew.

Finally, on February 11, 2011, the cat was out of the bag and everybody knew that Jeff Pintuff won the Powerball jackpot. By that time, Jeff and his wife Christine had already quit their jobs.

So what do Jeff and Christine Pintuff plan to do with their $8.8 million? Well, Christine wants to take a vacation, since they haven't had one since 1996. And, Jeff will consider buying a new car, although he hasn't decided for sure yet.

Posted in: New York