On 22nd January 2011, Powerball Winner Stephen Kirwan’s luck changed for the better. He won the lottery jackpot of $122 million with the numbers 30-31-34-45-51 and the Powerball 23. Just over a year before Stephen’s house, on the northern edge of the Catskills mountains, burnt down.
To see whether any of Stephen’s life changing numbers are among the most or least commonly drawn in previous draws you can take a look at our Powerball numbers statistics.
Stephen Kirwan regularly plays the lottery at various venues around Catskill. He decided to play Powerball with five tickets from Clothespin Laundromat, Catskill Commons shopping plaza. “I picked my own numbers,” he said, “They don’t mean anything. They’re just random numbers that I picked.”
At the press conference, where he was presented with his Powerball lotto jackpot dummy cheque, Kirwan said, “I’m not overly lucky. My own home was damaged by fire last year. I guess I got a lifetime of luck all at once.”
Yolanda Vega of the New York Lottery Division asked Stephen Kirwan if he knew what being a multimillionaire felt like, his reply was “No, I’ve never been one.” Kirwan has decided not to take the $122 million paid out over 29 years, but to take the cash payout instead.
This means that he will receive $61.2 million before taxes and $40.4 after taxes for his Powerball prize. Palmira Nicolo opted to take the cash payout as well after he won $87.2 million in 2009.
