text: Terre Haute man claims $1M Powerball prize | News | batesvilleheraldtribune.com
  Terre Haute resident Mark Vester Sr. (left) receives a giant $1 million check from Hoosier Lottery executive director Sarah Taylor on Thursday.
  Howard Greninger (Terre Haute) Tribune-Star
  Mark Vester Sr., 53, Terre Haute, was identified as a $1 million Powerball winner on Thursday.
  Attempts to reach Vester for an interview were unsuccessful.
  Married and a retired employee of Circle S Ranch, according to his Facebook page, he purchased his winning ticket Tuesday at the Jiffy Mini Mart at 13th and Poplar streets in Terre Haute and spent just $2 on the lottery — the price of one Powerball ticket.
  "He said he's going to call me 'Extra Money' from now on," said the store manager, whose first name, coincidentally, is Money. His full name is Money Singh, and he's been manager of the store for about a year.
  Singh said the winning ticket holder "came in about 7 a.m. (Thursday) and said he had the winning ticket. He's a good and regular customer. He is a very nice man," Singh said. "He was very nervous."
  "He was white as a ghost and shaking" about his winnings, said assistant manager Amy Elliott.
  Singh said the store sold about 900 Powerball tickets Wednesday and about 3,000 tickets in the four previous days.
  Tammy Marles, office manager for all of Jiffy Mart's Terre Haute stores, said the company will receive 1 percent of the winning number.
  "We're very excited about that," Marles said. "That will help. We have had winners before, but never this big. And (Vester) is a regular customer."
  Meanwhile, Powerball officials said three tickets sold in Florida, Tennessee and a Los Angeles suburb for Wednesday's drawing matched all of the numbers. Those holding the tickets will split the $1.6 billion jackpot three ways.
  Winners of the world-record jackpot overcame odds of 1 in 292.2 million to claim a share of the jackpot. They can take the winnings in annual payments spread over decades or a smaller amount in a lump sum.
  Wednesday's winning Powerball numbers were 4, 8, 19, 27, 34 and Powerball 10.
  Two additional tickets, sold in West Lafayette and Zionsville, are worth $100,000. Those tickets matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball number and included the Power Play, which doubled the standard $50,000 prize.
  Statewide, 15 tickets worth $50,000 were sold, including one in Terre Haute.
  Those tickets matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball number and were sold in the cities of Jasper, Madison, Corydon, Seymour, Lapel, Fort Wayne (two tickets), Batesville, Indianapolis, South Bend (two tickets), Richmond, Terre Haute, Danville and Hobart, according to the Hoosier Lottery.
  Overall, there were 18 notable winners in Indiana in the $1.5 billion drawing, according to The Hoosier Lottery.
  Winning ticketholders should sign the back and contact Hoosier Lottery customer service for claim instructions. The 24-hour toll-free number is 1-800-955-6886. Prizes of $50,000 or more must be claimed at Hoosier Lottery headquarters in Indianapolis.