A Redmond Washington man won the $5.3 million jackpot but seems to be less than enthused for his new found fortune and being the first multi-million-dollar lottery winner this year.

The 52 year old David Barrett said, "I had planned for the possibility that I could win the lottery, maybe that's why I'm not as excited as everybody thinks I should be."
Barrett didn’t even know he won until a store clerk told he hit the jackpot but didn’t know for how much. David went home and told his wife and told reporters,

"We proceeded not to believe it. We ran a couple errands and had dinner."

Another day passed until Barrett finally went to the 7-Eleven store where he purchased his ticket and asked how much the jackpot was.

"Basically I just started to grin, and (the clerk) just looked at me like I was stupid. The grin felt like it was going to split my head in half. I felt like it was just growing and growing," said David.

Claiming to be a simple man, Barrett and his wife don’t plan to quit any time soon. He has six more years to go before he can claim his full pension, and he said his employer "isn't getting off the hook."

"I am not going to go out and buy a boat," he said. "I'm a simple, down-to-earth guy."
"Life becomes the same," Barrett said of winning the money. "The prize becomes the exit door. It gets us to the end, and maybe we can enjoy our retirement."


- 2008-01-22