Kentucky distillery employees hit the jackpot, to split $50K in office pool

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — A group of 17 Barton 1792 Distillery employees carpooled to the Kentucky Lottery Headquarters after work on March 25, leaving with a $50,000 check.

Lottery officials said they’ve been playing the Kentucky Lottery together for over a year.

“We all play the lottery; every week I go around, I collect money from everybody, and we got a little pool going,” Chris Smith said. “Usually we’ll win, like, four bucks or eight bucks. Once we won $100. This weekend we won $50,000, which is a pretty good little payout for everybody.” 

Smith told lottery officials he usually buys the group’s tickets at a Bardstown convenience store. But on March 21, he decided to pick one up while grocery shopping at Walmart.

“I scanned it on the machine; $50,000 showed up, and the first thing I do is look and see who is behind me. Anybody see that?” Smith joked. “It felt pretty nice, you know? And then I took it home and scanned it on my phone just to make sure it read the same, and it did, and I was like, Okay.” 

The group’s winning ticket matched four white ball winning numbers and the Powerball, bringing home $50,000.

Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Mary Harville had the pleasure of handing each winner their individual prize—$2,941 after taxes. 

“The Kentucky Lottery’s mission is funding education and creating fun games and an amazing winner experience in our Winners Experience Lobby,” Harville said. “You could tell these winners were a tight-knit group and truly enjoyed being around each other because they were laughing and joking with one another while we were printing their checks.”  

Walmart in Bardstown will receive $500 for selling the winning ticket.