Florida couple claims share of $1.6B Powerball jackpot

Mark Humphrey/AP Kaltschmidt and Smith will share the $1.5 billion Powerball jackpot with John Robinson (r.) and his wife, Lisa Robinson, who purchased their winning ticket in Tennessee.

The winners are scheduled to attend a news conference Wednesday afternoon at the Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee. In fact, the Powerball jackpot victor in Chino Hills has one year to claim their winning ticket and get their money, according to the California lottery. The couple stepped forward Wednesday to claim their lump sum share of the prize, worth $327 million before taxes.

“We’re no longer in a quiet place, which I’m going to miss”.

The couple has set up a trust called the Nickel 95 Trust to manage the dough.

“Then they announced (it was sold at) the Publix, and I said, ‘Uh-oh, ‘” Kaltschmidt recalled.

Kaltschmidt, an engineer, said that when he showed up late to work the next morning “they suspected I had won”. The couple says they’ve played the same lottery numbers for years but chose to keep their news a secret for more than a month. Smith said she would like a massage. The retailer received $100,000 for selling the jackpot-winning ticket. “I said, ‘Did you win the Powerball?’ She said, ‘No, ‘ very calmly, ‘No'”. Ms Smith bought the golden ticket at a Publix supermarket in Melbourne, Florida. Smith, 70, a homemaker, said her age was a factor in the decision to take the immediate payment.

Since the January 13 drawing, the pair kept quiet around Melbourne, not even telling their children or other family members until last week.

The victor from California has not yet come forward.

They spent $3 on their winning ticket.

Most who pass by are taking pictures of the winners home.

Smith said she had been using the winning numbers – 4-8-19-27-34 and the Powerball of 10 – for years but rarely played.