48 SEPTA coworkers to split $172.7M Powerball jackpot

AS JAMES THROWER leaned against a wall outside SEPTA headquarters on Market Street, the paratransit worker's smirk said it all.


"We immediately started hatin', " the 34-year-old joked with three of his co-workers. "I play the lottery every day. I'm in the casino every week. I just wish it was me."


A SEPTA co-worker breezed by the group. "Y'all winners?" she asked excitedly.


Thrower and his buddies answered in a chorus: "We wish!"

The wish, of course, was to be one of the 48 SEPTA workers who bagged the $172.7 million Powerball jackpot in Wednesday night's drawing. Maybe there's a consolation prize.


"We're hoping they all leave and we can get [their] better jobs," said Thrower, who works for SEPTA's Customized Community Transportation service for riders with disabilities.


His colleague, Carey Abney III, cracked up at that.


"You hit the Powerball, would you still be here?" he asked with a grin.


All the winning employees work - at least for now - at SEPTA headquarters on Market Street near 12th, most of them in the finance department, SEPTA said. They bought the winning $2 ticket at the Newsstand at the Gallery, a couple of blocks away.


They already have decided as a group to remain anonymous, he said, but he was able to share some details: Some are relatively new to SEPTA while one person has been there 40 years. They are union and nonunion workers and range from a custodian to a senior manager. A few have already talked about retiring while others said they plan to keep their jobs.


The custodian "is a phenomenal guy . . . a wonderful employee," Maloney said.


When his coworkers heard the good news, they made an arch with their arms for him to walk under and gave him high-fives.


"We're so glad he's among the winners," he said.


Indeed, many people pouring out of the office at the end of the day seemed genuinely happy for their millionaire colleagues.


Angela Zippy, 30, who works in graphics, said she knew a few of the winners.


"It was exciting to see," she said. "A lot of people really deserve it. It's hard times right now, so I can tell you it meant a lot to them.


"It was very touching. It was a good day for SEPTA," she said.


Cynthia Griffin, who works in customer service, said it was exciting "to be so close to someone you know who won. . . . You could feel the vibe."


She wasn't in a lottery pool, but after this, "our floor is going to start," she said with a laugh.


The other winner Thursday was the owner of the newsstand, who identified himself only as Mr. Kim. He will receive a $100,000 commission for selling the jackpot-winning ticket.


At the Gallery earlier in the day, Kim said he didn't believe it when a lottery official told him that he sold the winning ticket.


"Really?" he recalled saying. It wasn't until a second official confirmed the news that he realized it must be true.


When he told his wife, she said, "Good job," he recalled.

Kim, who has two teenage children, said he emigrated from South Korea in 1993 and opened the newsstand. He also owns a watch-repair kiosk next to it.


He said he wasn't sure who bought the winning ticket but said he suspected a man who spent $240 - the same amount of the SEPTA workers' pool.


One of his regulars, Mary Anne Mich, was shocked at the astounding news.


"Here? Oh, sweet Jesus," said the 83-year-old from Fairmount as she rooted in her purse for her ticket for Thursday night's Cash 5 - and money to buy scratch-offs. "That's wonderful. I hope it brings them happiness."