Jack Whittaker (lottery winner)

Andrew Jackson “Jack” Whittaker, Jr. (born c. 1947 in Jumping Branch, Summers County, West Virginia) is a West Virginia businessman who became famous when he won US$315 million in the Powerball multi-state lottery. At the time it was the largest jackpot ever won by a single winning ticket in the history of American lottery. He has garnered even more publicity since his win due to several well-publicized brushes with the law as well as personal tragedies.

Powerball win

Whittaker was the 55-year-old president of Diversified Enterprises Construction, a successful contracting firm in Putnam County, West Virginia, when he chose the correct numbers for the December 25, 2002 drawing. Whittaker had a net worth of over US$17 million even before his Powerball windfall. Whittaker purchased the winning Powerball ticket at a supermarket in Hurricane, West Virginia, where he had stopped for a deli breakfast sandwich and to get fuel for his Lincoln Navigator.

The jackpot that day was a US$314.9 million annuity or US$170 million cash. Whittaker chose the cash option and received a check for approximately US$114 millionref|bio7 after tax withholdings.

Philanthropy

Whittaker pledged 10% of his winnings to Christian charities—including several churches affiliated with the Church of God—in southern West Virginia. One of the beneficiary congregations constructed a multi-million dollar church in Hurricane. He also donated $14 million to establish the Jack Whittaker Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides food and clothing to low-income families in rural West Virginia. Furthermore, he tipped the woman who worked the biscuit counter at the convenience store where he bought the winning ticket by buying her a $123,000 house, a new Jeep and giving her $44,000 cash.

Legal / personal problems

The pressures of his new wealth also caused numerous problems. Whittaker has been arrested several times and has had numerous well-publicized domestic problems.

Jack Whittaker was arrested for drunk driving on Interstate 64 on January 16, 2003.

On August 5, 2003, thieves broke into his car while it was parked at the Pink Pony, a strip club in Cross Lanes, West Virginia. The thieves went away with $545,000 in cash.ref|bio1ref|bio2 Two employees at the same club, the manager and dancers manager who were romantically linked, were later arrested and charged with a plot to put drugs in Whittaker's drinks and then rob him. On January 25, 2004, thieves once again broke into his car, this time making off with an estimated $200,000 in cash that was later recovered.

On January 6, 2004, Whittaker was arrested for misdemeanor assault after allegedly threatening the life of a bar manager in St. Albans, West Virginia. He has also been sued after allegedly groping a woman at a dog racetrack. Whittaker told a TV station after he was charged with drunken driving, "It doesn't bother me because I can tell everyone to piss off."

In September 2003, Jesse Tribble, a 17-year-old on and off again boyfriend of Jack's granddaughter Brandi Bragg, was found dead in Whittaker's home in Teays Valley, West Virginia. A coroner's report indicated that he died of a drug overdose. Several months later, on December 20, 2004, Brandi, 17, was found dead after a drug overdose. After she had been missing for several weeks, her body was discovered lying under a tarpaulin near her then boyfriend's home.

At an October 11, 2005 hearing related to his January 2003 DUI, a visibly shaken Whittaker lashed out at area law enforcement agencies for focusing on his troubles while failing to arrest anyone in relation to his granddaughter's death,ref|bio3

Jewell Whittaker (wife) filed for divorce on May 27, 2005 in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Her attorney, on February 26, 2006 filed Notices of Lis Pendens against numerous companies and corporations owned by Whittaker. The Notice filed by his wife essentially puts potential purchasers and potential creditors on notice that the assets of the companies may be subject to debt collection and that Mr. Whittaker is a party in on-going litigation. The document specifically named and sought to prevent the sale of real estate owned by the companies. More than 25 of the companies filed a Putnam Circuit Court petition seeking to have the Notice removed citing undue hardship and interference with business affairs.

Whittaker is also being sued by Caesars Atlantic City casino for bouncing $1.5 million worth of checks to cover gambling losses. Whittaker is also countersuing them, claiming that his losses were supposed to be credited due to a slot machine he developed and that they in fact owe him money.ref|bio4

On January 11, 2007, a legal complaint against Whittaker alleged that Whittaker claimed that on September 11, 2006 thieves took all of his money.ref|bio5ref|bio6 The robbers, according to the account, went to 12 branches of the City National Bank and cashed 12 checks. The incident came to light because Whittaker had not been paying money to a woman who had previously sued him. Kitti French filed the complaint earlier in the week, requesting court costs and money from Whittaker.

On March 26, 2007, Jack Whittaker settled a wrongful death civil suit. The unexpected deal came not long after Whittaker was questioned about whether his money and alleged lack of supervision contributed to the death of 18-year-old Jessie Tribble. Whittaker defended providing his granddaughter, Brandi Bragg, with a $2100-per-week allowance. James Tribble alleges an un-parented Bragg funded the drug purchase that let his 18-year-old son Jessie die of a drug overdose in Whittaker's house.

Following Whittaker's testimony, a deal was reached. James Tribble said there was no winner in the suit after the settlement was reported. Earlier Christie Tribble testified that she gave her son $20 just before he died, but thought he was joking about buying drugs.

On February 27, 2008, Whittaker had a "near-miss" $10,000 Powerball win (missing one of the five regular numbers, although he did match the red Powerball number.)

References

# [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A36338-2005Jan25?language=printer "Rich Man, Poor Man"] , "Washington Post", Jan. 30, 2005.
# [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-02-12-lottery-winner_x.htm "One wild ride for jackpot winner"] , "USA Today", Feb. 12, 2004.
# [http://wvmetronews.com/index_forsub.cfm?func=displayfullstory&storyid=13162 "West Virginia Metro News"] , Oct. 11, 2005.
# [http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/POWERBALL_WINNER_CASINO?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US "Largest Single Powerball Winner in US History"]
# [http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/5158837.html "Powerball Winner Jack Whittaker Claims He's Broke"] , WSAZ News Channel 3, Jan. 11, 2007 (accessed Apr. 8, 2007)
# [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/12/national/main2357053.shtml "Lottery Winner: Thieves "Got All My Money'"] , CBS News, Jan. 12, 2007 (accessed Apr. 8, 2007)
# [http://wvgazette.com/latest/200803240346 "Whittaker wins Powerball -- again"] , The Charleston Gazette, Mar. 25, 2008
# [http://www.hintonnews.net/state/060904-rutheford-whitteker.html "Estranged Wife of Jack Whittaker Contends Part Ownership in Over 25 Companies; Companies Contend Jewell Whittaker’s Filing Has Cut Off Their Credit"] , Hintonnews.net, Sep. 4, 2006

External links

* [http://www-cgi.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0212/26/tl.00.html CNN "Talkback Live"] Transcript: "$300 Million Powerball Winner Revealed; Should Torture be an Option for U.S. Government?" (show aired December 26, 2002)
* [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-12-22-lottery-tragedy_x.htm "No fairy tale life for lottery winner"] , Rick Hampson, "USA Today", Dec. 12, 2004.
* [http://www.lottoreport.com/Sadbuttrue1.htm "More Sad but True Lottery Winners Stories"] , "The Lotto Report"; originally posted Dec. 10, 2004, revised Feb. 27, 2005.
* [http://www.lotterypost.com/news/148710 "Jack Whittaker: un-luckiest lottery winner ever"] , "Lottery Post", Jan. 12, 2007.
* [http://www.chicagotribune.com/search/sns-ap-powerball-nightmare,0,6083674.story "Powerball Win: Fantasy or Nightmare?"] . "Chicago Tribune"; September 14, 2007.