Oak Ridge man wins $1 million in Powerball game

NASHVILLE, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — It’s a good thing Bill Caylor stuck with his instincts and kept the same six numbers he’d been using for months to play Powerball.

Caylor, 59, of Oak Ridge thought about changing numbers this time but decided against it and ended up winning $1 million in Wednesday’s drawing.

He and his wife, Betty, collected winnings totaling $750,000 after taxes at the Tennessee Lottery’s headquarters Friday.

“We just can’t believe it,” said Caylor, a quality control specialist with Boeing. “This is just great … everyone is so excited. We play regularly and we’ll be buying a ticket before we leave today.”

And he did just that, purchasing another ticket at the headquarters.

The Caylors haven’t decided yet what they’ll do with the money, but they said they do know it will include helping their five children and 6-month-old grandchild.

Caylor is the eighth winner of $1 million or more since the Tennessee Lottery began about 22 months ago.

“Our group of million-dollar winners continues to grow, as does the excitement about the millions of dollars we’re raising for education,” said Lottery CEO and President Rebecca Paul, who presented Caylor with his check.

As of Sept. 30, the games have raised more than $415 million for education programs in Tennessee, according to lottery officials.

Caylor bought Powerball’s Power Play option, which allowed him to multiply his second-tier prize of $200,000 by five. With Power Play, a player who wins a prize other than the jackpot can multiply their winnings from two to five times, depending on which multiplier is selected for that drawing.

“I’m a die-hard Power Play person,” he said. “I figure if I don’t win the jackpot, I’ll increase whatever else I win.”