Fairmont Man Claims $1 Million Powerball Prize
July 11, 2016Charleston, W.Va. – West Virginia Lottery Acting Director John Myers introduced Robert Lane of Fairmont as West Virginia’s second $1 million Powerball winner within two weeks at a press conference Monday. The lucky ticket, which matched five numbers from the July 6th drawing, was purchased from the East Park Mart in Fairmont.
Mr. Lane purchased the ticket on Monday July 4th; on Friday he returned to the store location and saw that someone had bought the winning ticket from that location. He asked the cashier to give him a copy of the winning numbers to compare with his ticket at home. He had his daughter check the numbers and realized he had matched all five of the first five numbers for the winning ticket.
“You work hard all of your [life], then it’s hard to let this just sink in.” Mr. Lane is still in shock and says this is something he wishes he could share with his parents. Mr. Lane and his family are considering their options. His wife would like a small farm, “something where he can have some cattle.” Mr. Lane also brought his nephew Ricky along to enjoy the excitement, after which they plan to go fishing and may take some trips out west to big game hunt. Mr. Lane occasionally plays the lottery, but more so, “when it gets over a hundred million.” He has used birthdates in the past for his numbers, however this lucky one was chosen with the easy pick.
Mr. Lane worked as a hydraulic mechanic on mining machinery for 25 years. He was born in Fairmont, worked out of state for a while, and then returned in 2013. He and his wife have been married for 25 years and have two daughters and a lot of extended family.