A group of current and former employees of Rector A. Jones Middle School in Florence, Ken., call themselves the “Jones 30” and have played the lottery as a group for over a decade. The group, comprised of teachers, counselors, administrative staff, and the school nurse finally hit the jackpot, winning $1 million. The group recently carpooled to the lottery office after work to collect their winnings from the Powerball drawing: $24,000 each, after taxes. After playing the same numbers weekly since 2019, they matched every one except the Powerball number. A retired math teacher kept the group organized, stashing the winning ticket in a math textbook. “No one looks in a math book, so I knew it would be safe there,” said the teacher. The group says they will continue playing the lottery together.
