Kansas Body Shop Owner to Keep Working Despite Winning $5.26 Million Jackpot
6/6/2008 8:48:31 AM
A report out of the Joplin Globe of Pittsburg, Kan., says a body shop and towing business owner won a $5.26 million Hot Lotto jackpot but is not going to stop working.
“I’m most comfortable where I’m at, getting
in my wrecker and going out on calls,” said the 59-year-old Larry Barrett. “I’ve been that way since
I was 3 years old.”
Barrett, who has owned Larry Barrett Body Frame and Towing since 1971, said his parents instilled a good work ethic in him and his four other siblings.
Barrett could have opted for the grand prize as an annuity paid over 24
years (25 payments), or a cash lump-sum payment. He took the lump-sum
payment, which is $3.2 million, minus 25 percent in federal taxes and 5
percent in state taxes, for a total of $2.24 million.
“If I was younger, I’d think about taking
the annuity,” Barrett said. “I’m 59 years old. I’ve had open-heart
surgery. If I took the annuity and died tomorrow, it doesn’t go to my
family. And I don’t think that’s right.”
“The most I’d ever won was $200 on two different tickets,” he said. “I’m pretty much done with it now.”