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CNN Live Today
Three Winners Share $331 Million Lottery Jackpot
Aired April 17, 2002 - 12:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Millions of tickets were sold, but only three matched the winning lottery numbers in last night's mega Big Game jackpot. The winning tickets were sold in New Jersey, Georgia and Illinois. The three winners will share an estimated $331 million.
One of the winners, rather, a 20-year-old from suburban Atlanta, pulled up at lottery headquarters in a limousine. That's where she joins CNN's Brian Cabell.
Boy, already living the life of a millionaire.
BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I tell you, Kyra, I don't have the pull to get her to pull up next to me. She's upstairs right now at a press conference, as a matter of fact. The official confirmation that she is in fact a winner. Twenty-year-old Erica Green from Dacula, Georgia. She worked for a cell phone company, for a cell phone and phone accessory business in Dacula, Georgia.
She's not at work today. She's upstairs. She's collecting her estimated $58 to $60 million. She strolled in here just about two hours ago, as you said, with friends, family, her entire entourage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CABELL: You do have the winning ticket?
ERICA GREEN, BIG GAME LOTTERY WINNER: I do.
CABELL: How do you feel?
GREEN: Wonderful.
CABELL: What are you going to do right now?
GREEN: I'm going to figure out what I got to do.
CABELL: Seriously, what are your plans at this point?
GREEN: I really have no plans.
CABELL: You must have been dreaming about this for a time.
GREEN: I couldn't sleep. I couldn't dream. I couldn't do anything. I mean I always, everyone talks about it. If I win the lottery, I'm going to do this. I have no idea do what I'm going to do.
CABELL: So you watched the numbers come out last night at 11:00?
GREEN: No, actually my mom watched it. She wrote them down, and I just checked my tickets off her copy. And then I was like, she wrote them down wrong. But we watched the news, and they showed them again so...
CABELL: How many tickets did you buy?
GREEN: This is Mom.
CABELL: Are you going to share with mom?
GREEN: Of course.
CABELL: What did you think, mom?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you know, I don't know we were both in shock. I mean we sat there like, we had to go get a cigarette. It was like all that we were doing until this is not real. The numbers not going to validate or I wrote them down wrong.
GREEN: The computer will have a glitch something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you scared holding the ticket that oh my God?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was shaking. As soon as she got the numbers, she was doing this.
GREEN: I can lose it something -- take it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do with the ticket all night? Was somebody holding it all the time?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it was on her dresser.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just left it on the dresser?
GREEN: Just left it on the dresser.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is the ticket right now?
GREEN: I dare you. I'm not saying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After you sat down, what was your first what you would call rational thought?
CABELL: Why did you decide to come down?
GREEN: Well, last night I tried to call the number on the back of the ticket. I tried to call and call and call. I'd hang up and push redial. And it was busy all night. And I was like oohhh. I tried again this morning. And I was like well it says you have to got to go here, so let's go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we heard you went to the gas station this morning, where you bought the ticket.
GREEN: Yeah, I did. I went there. And they were talking, did you play the Big Game? I was like yeah. Well they were like the winner got their ticket from our place, our store.
I was like really. They were like yeah. Because I wasn't going to say anything to anything to anybody. So that I would be able to get in, get out, and figure out what I was going to do. So I would have answers to all the questions. But um, so they were like well, yeah.
And I was like what would you do if I told you I won it.
They were like well we would say congratulations, and then he walks back over, said did you win it?
I said like yep. And I showed him the lottery ticket. And they were like grabbing onto me, and holding me, and shaking me, and I'm so happy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABELL: She was excited as you can hear, but I thought remarkably calm for a 20 year old woman who had just came into $58 to 60 million. She said she actually slept for a half hour last night before coming here to Atlanta to collect her winnings. And she does unfortunately for a lot of young men out there, she does have a boyfriend. She's been going with him for about a year. And he was standing behind her fully supportive during the entire press conference.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: You know, Brian, I can just imagine. Alright. Brian Cabell. Thank you so much.
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