Crump, Allen & Lewis General Partnership Of Amarillo Claims Whopping $122 Million Prize
(AUSTIN) - "The family that plays together can claim together" might be an appropriate slogan for the members of the Crump, Allen & Lewis General Partnership, Ronald Crump, general partner, of Amarillo, that claimed the January 9 $122 million Mega Millions� jackpot.
Ronald Crump, as well as his wife, Clara; Donald Crump; Kenneth Crump and his wife, Peggy; Kelvin Allen and his wife, Cindy Crump Allen; Dean Crump and his wife, Nicki; and Rita and Gary Lewis are all clearly related, at least by marriage, if not by blood.
Together, they have been playing Texas Lottery� games for nearly 15 years, and today the legal entity they formed claimed the $122 million prize they won playing Mega Millions. The Cash Value Option amount of the advertised jackpot is $73,572,690 and the largest Mega Millions prize ever claimed here.
The morning after the drawing, Ronald Crump was reading his local newspaper and checked the numbers on the two Mega Millions Quick Pick tickets he had purchased.
"For some reason, the paper did not have the Mega Ball number, so I called the 800-number at the Lottery to get the information," he said. "When I hung up the phone, I must have walked around my kitchen table 10 times holding that ticket and just looking at it."
Crump called Donald first and then the rest of his family members.
"When I called the rest of the family to tell them what happened, I got a lot of 'uh-huhs,' and 'yeah, right' thrown back at me," he said. "Still, I did convince them to come over that afternoon."
Crump and Donald took the ticket to the safe deposit box at the bank.
The three brothers are retired. Ronald is a former postal worker in Billings, Montana. Kenneth Crump retired from the Texas Department of Highways. Donald is also retired.
Since the drawing, word has gotten out in Amarillo that the claimants are indeed holding the ticket for the January 9 Mega Millions drawing.
One popular rumor pointed to a local TV weatherman as the claimant. According to several sources, that weatherman had to state on the air that he was not the claimant.
As far as the plans that members of the partnership have for their winnings, Clara knew right away what they would do.
"This is for our kids and grand-kids," she said. "Now they won't have to struggle to go to college. "We plan to help our church, too,"
"The proceeds from the Texas Lottery benefit our state's public schools, so it is always rewarding to hear our winners tell us that the first thing they plan to do is ensure the educational futures of their children and grandchildren," said Texas Lottery Commission Executive Director Anthony J. Sadberry. "This Mega Millions win is the fourth and largest-ever for Texas since we joined the game in December, 2003."
There is one other thing that all the partnership members plan to do together to celebrate this win.
"There's a plan to take a cruise next month, all of us," Ronald Crump said. "It'll be to the Caribbean." "I think all of us would like to visit new places, go to different countries in Europe, go to the Virgin Islands and Las Vegas, just see the world," said Ronald Crump.
Dean Crump, son of the general partner, said he, unlike his father and two uncles, is not yet retired.
"I work for a software company in Amarillo," he said. "I have a lot of people who depend on me and I can't just walk away."
Taylor Petro Co., Inc. #80, 3400 Coulter Drive in Amarillo is the store where Ronald Crump purchased two tickets.
The retailer is eligible to receive a bonus of $1 million for having sold the ticket.
Friday's Mega Millions jackpot is worth an estimated $65 million. Saturday's Lotto Texas� jackpot is worth an estimated $34 million.
For more information about the Texas Lottery, please visit the official Texas Lottery Web site at http://www.txlottery.org.
To learn more about Mega Millions, visit the official Mega Millions Web site at www.megamillions.com
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